The 'riot' game!

Those who instigate riots know the rule to be 'fireproofed'—and to thrive on dangerous fundamentals. Beyond such calculated moves, the sufferers and their humane observers live in oblivion.

Quite often, we see the frail silent image of Manto hanging on wall and his literatures meeting disdained responses, likewise as: I'll fly all from here--not to listen, these are at service, always at service!

Akbar Illahabadi wrote: “They hold the throne in their hand. The whole realm is in their hand. The country, the apportioning of men’s livelihood is in their hand. The springs of hope and of fear are in their hand—in their hand is the power to decide who shall be humbled and who exalted.” But who they are? Why they enjoying such sinful authority?

Their authority powered from the effects of fragile public dismay—and by the electoral design, which allows the representative of particular interest group, winning the ground. The riot cannot be secular—however time and again, political parties have tried falsifying this kind of simple argument.

Most recently, the Samajwadi Party government in UP termed their handling of Muzaffarnagar riots as ‘secular response’—though outside the ‘ambit of reasons’ and nailed in no time, its leaders and sycophant bureaucrats have made all efforts to keep the state government away from imminent legal and moral scrutiny.

As a nation, India was born in the atmosphere of fractured communal harmony—by that account, year 1947 was intensely grim coated. That year, the partition theory reached swift action mode and resulted the bloodiest outbreak of riots and exodus across the imagined borders of two nations in making.

The ‘two nation theory’ worked as planned by the ‘White Sahibs for Brown Sahibs’—and British left not one but two ‘free countries’—both scare-faced and terribly handicapped in keeping alive the momentum of great sacrifices, made during the independence movement.

The scores of people butchered, displaced to never return their home—and most shockingly, women raped for being identified with particular religious identity, had not really shook the minds and souls of system.

But the man who spearheaded the non-violent fight against the tyranny of empire, Gandhi, was in deep shock. He avoided the well deserved happiness for independence and tried to control the frenzied communal clashes in Calcutta.

Sadly, the ruling political classes at that time and later in the history of modern India— remained unflinchingly inactive and unimpressed with an option of ‘straight shooting’ against the hooliganism of unparalleled distort.

Why so? Because only being complicit in the communal riots goes against the ‘law of the land’? Then such law must come under the scanner, which spares the state’s role in commanded violence—with a few rounds of hiccups. Beyond the political overplay, ‘riots’ need to be relooked—much more seriously than the other currents of history.

And this must start with India’s partition, which not only bifurcated the nation but left it permanently vulnerable, to be marred by the ‘communal elements’ and opportunist users of secularist ideas.

During the Delhi riots in 1984, Bhagalpur riots in the late 1980s, Gujarat riots in 2002 and most recently at Muzaffarnagar, the superficial political inquisitions surpassed the real grief of human tragedies. Thousands were murdered, most of them without realizing the actual spectre of politics behind the riot—they simply vanished, as easily as they appeared destined for it!

The ‘riots’ in Indian contexts have been driven through certain ‘political intents’—and communal assertion intermingle them at certain stage. In such wild state of affairs, ‘personification’ takes place at high stage. With each incident of riot, our collective memory recalls a face behind it—the real issues get no attention in public memory or by the restless and assumptive media.

Henceforth, the riot victims presented as numbers and court seeks evidences—only evidences, and not anything reasonable.
Those sheltered in riot camps are treated like ‘citizens on margin’—and ‘the rulers’ of state claims such inhuman arrangements, charity.

A young—undeserving—and untimely CM of UP, Akhilesh Yadav will never ever understand what his government has done in follow-up action on the wake of communal outbreak in politically charged Muzaffarnagar.He could have easily done without Saifai extravaganza or Europe trip for his party rank and file, when people were freezing in relief camps, away from their homes.

They are still in camps, winter was harshest for them. Most of them are facing health issues, which arise by the lack of basic nutrition and hygiene. Like normal human being, they too require elementary amenities—circumstance to go back home, which are burnt and need to be repaired. Though they know, the soul of their home has withered away—as only a few good neighbours want to see them back.

Something similar happened in Kashmir in 1990—still we talk about relief camps, and we recall the grim faces of Kashmiri Pandits. Now they are settled everywhere, except at their home in valley—my fear is the same for those uprooted from the villages of Muzaffarnagar.

The victims live in reality—as they have no command on resources. Their ‘dignity’ is compromised—the kids are trying to learn the lessons, through experiences and self efforts. But there is a limitation of self-learning. The young girls are being married, to suppress the extra amount of insecurity and helplessness.

The terror outfits are, reportedly visiting these camps to negotiate with ‘anemic sheltered citizens of India’—and they return without much success, as people have still trust in state, if not in leadership. They collect relief to survive—as survival is not less than a virtue, for both ‘fit& frail’.

This way, the riot works in India. Knowingly or unknowingly, political animals help each other to float in the dirty stream—and they really triumph the alternative wisdom. In the coming general elections, the ‘secularism claim’ must be tested by the electorates in UP, and wherever the land is India!
-Atul K Thakur
Email: summertickets@gmail.com
(Published in Governance Now on March22,2014)

Verdict for democracy

Nepal’s election results are hardly unexpected. The Maoists have been relegated to third position and many Madheshi and fringe parties have met their diminishing fortunes. Under both the direct vote and Proportional Representation systems, the Nepali Congress, led by Sushil Koirala, took the lead, followed by the CPN-UML, headed by Jhala Nath Khanal.

The political verdict is clearly in favour of a stable coalition. Evidently, the course correction has been directed against the UCPN (Maoist), who failed at any broadbased maneuvering to make the constitution in recent years. The disenchantment with the Maoists, thus, must be seen in the long-term context.

Unprecedented fall

The rise and fall of the Maoists as a political force in Nepal is unprecedented—their acceptance into mainstream society grew with the end of the ‘normal monarchy’ in the country and subsequent political developments, in which the mainstream political parties were on a weak track. Even then, the way in which the Maoists rose to political prominence, despite their notoriety for violence, was quite unusual.

The spectre of decline was certainly known to Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Baburam Bhattarai but they seemed to remain steadfast in not moulding their ideological principle for local conditions and moreover, to live out its spirit. So, the blunders were not single-handed. In the changed scenario, the Nepali Maoists turned into a classic example of adhering to a custom-made ideology from a foreign land.

In the 1960s, something similar happened in India when a genuine radical upsurge met with an awful fate, following the incorrigible sycophancy of communist leaders in fancying the Chinese style of ‘hit and run communism’. Some even went so far to declare ‘China’s Chairman as their Chairman’.

Consequently, the radical movement dwindled in India, though the oppressiveness of the state and corporates has increased multifold over the decades. The Maoists in Nepal should think of the bigger picture and start doing things, rather than denying the aspirations of the common folk. And on a personal front too, they have to show integrity with principled political commitments, which, sadly, is notably absent in their current mode of action.

Albeit, emigration is reaching painful levels of exodus among young Nepalis but the poll results have represented their will. Certainly, they wish for a stable nation, with enough capacity to absorb the needs of every citizen. As of now—from India to Tibet to the Arab countries—the state of average Nepali migrants is a matter of concern for any thinking mind. Alas, no thou-ght or action has really been made on this haunting issue!

NC and UML

This is a historic chance for the Nepali Congress (NC) and CPN-UML to draft a pro-people constitution and create a functional government. As representative of the peoples’ will, these two political parties should not fail this time, because improved democratic processes will only promise better times ahead.

More on the socio-economic line, increased inclusion of different under-represented communities should be among the top agenda. Now these two major political parties have to carry the will of the people at large—as the activism of regional outfits in the Madhes and other parts of the country have lost their allure. But it is crucial for the NC and UML to respond and address the genuine demands of these groups.

Missed opportunity

The election result is remarkable for rejecting the ‘federalisation drive’ of the Maoists but keeping hope alive for socio-economic transformation. This was a response to the previous political configuration, which was largely opportunistic. If things improve, we will not see ethnic conflict mar the syncretism of this ancient land.

As the recently held CA election had existential rigour for Nepal’s democracy, it is truly unfortunate to see India’s inept response. India’s foreign ministry has again missed a chance to do damage control for earlier blunders by offering gestures of support to Nepal, which holds more significance than the other countries where top leaders don’t mind travelling to without reason and wasting valuable national resources.

Still, if not the Indian establishment, the mass of Indians think much more actively about their special neighbour. There lies the strength of bilateral relations between two countries; otherwise, official double standards from both sides could have hampered this relation long ago.

The time is right for immediate action from the new incumbent in Kathmandu. They will have focus on pressing goals. This time, leaders have to act or fail like the Maoists. The choices are easy to make but consistently following up on them will be the real acid test. But for now, reading the election results on a positive note would not be too risky.
-Atul K Thakur
Email: summertickets@gmail.com
(Published in The Kathmandu post,on December07,2013)

Too early to drop one’s guard

India must work closely with the newly-elected Nawaz Sharif Government in Pakistan. But, while it must explore enhancing relations in areas of trade, New Delhi must remain vigilant all the time.

Mr Nawaz Sharif’s return to power and his exuberant shower of constructive announcements offer hope, both to the Pakistani people as well to those in India wanting to improve relations with Pakistan. But India has had a mixed experience dealing with democratic regimes in Islamabad — at the start, things appear to be promising but suddenly the relationship turns sour. This was the case with Mr Sharif’s previous stint as Prime Minister, when friendly summits and goodwill trips to Pakistan by the NDA leadership were reciprocated with heavy infiltration in Kashmir.

Also, Mr Sharif, groomed under the cunning shadow of former President Zia-ul-Haq initially had little problem with limited military-political interface within the Pakistani establishment. His perception changed, however, after his Army chief Pervez Musharraf’s coup d'état in the post-Kargil days. While in exile, Mr Sharif has supposedly become more gentle, practical and reliable. So, he exudes hope to the crowds in Pakistan as well as to the Congress-led UPA regime in New Delhi, which has no strategic foreign policy for the South Asian neighbourhood.

But let us not forget that the root cause of pessimism in Pakistan lies in the fact that this country knows not how to live with rational actions. Today, Pakistan exists somewhere between the grim world of Saadat Hasan Manto and Faiz Ahmad Faiz.

These two literary greats had witnessed the making of Pakistan, and knew the country better than others and much before it was overrun by fundamentalists. A country created on religious lines, and also a product of the tussle between the elitist leaders of the Muslim League and those of the Congress, Pakistan has never been able to outgrow the complexes attached to its birth.

The history of democracy in Pakistan is blurry and replete with instances of continuous military interference, which till date distort political processes. Sixty-three years after its birth, Pakistan is far from how its founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah, an astute politician, had envisioned it. And even though a small segment of progressive Pakistanis may like to hold on to Jinnah’s vision, it is, for all practical purposes, now lost.

Its international borders notwithstanding, Pakistan’s alliances with China and the US have already compromised its sovereignty. Driven by their imperial compulsions, these countries use Pakistan to maintain their grip on the South Asian region. And this is obvious to Pakistani leaders, civil society activists and journalists.

The other factor that defines Pakistan’s geo-strategic policies is Afghanistan. The ground realities from that country plague Pakistan on a real time basis even as one powerful class of Pakistanis reap the benefits of instability. This class knows how important it is to keep stirring the pot — as, in a political order that is driven by force rather than constitutional values, it is troubled times that offer better strategic dividend than peace times.

India has the burden of history to bear when it comes to its foreign policy vis-à-vis Pakistan. However, New Delhi has often failed miserably to carry the load. This maybe in part due to the inadequacies of those who have sought to shape India’s policy towards Pakistan in recent years. Many of these so-called ‘Pakistan experts’ in New Delhi have practically no on-ground exposure to that country and only limited understanding of the historical linkages between India and Pakistan. They look upon Pakistan as a project that they need to handle. This impedes any deep and long-term study of the Pakistani problem in India.

Even New Delhi’s diplomatic corps, from the IIC to the Gymkhana generation, has failed to make its mark when it comes to strategic thinking with respect to Pakistan. Yet, India cannot afford to remain indifferent to this neighbour. As for now, India should keep playing safe with Pakistan. New Delhi may allow for an enhanced trade engagement with Pakistan, for instance. More importantly, it should support Mr Sharif so as to keep hardliners at bay in Islamabad. A fresh round of goodwill summits may also be encouraging for bilateral relations.

But through it all, India must remain vigilant. It must not be caught off-guard like it was in the 1990s when the then Prime Minister was indeed working to make a long-lasting improvement in India’s relations with Pakistan. Of course, both countries are in a different state now — this is especially true in Pakistan where the people have chosen the ballot over the bullet. Hopefully, Mr Sharif too will stay democratic and the Pakistani military will be cut to size by him. At this juncture, New Delhi should work closely with Islamabad for a positive turn in bilateral ties but while keeping its border security mechanism firmly in place.

-Atul K Thakur
Email: summertickets@gmail.com
(Published in The Pioneer on June18,2013)

Beyond borders

Many multilateral cooperation platforms have eluded smaller nations, contradicting their own rationale for existence. Nepal is no exception to this phenomenon and has badly missed out on chances to carve out a position to deal with major bilateral issues in South Asia and beyond. The country’s long democratic transition has made its standing even more precarious.

Before 2001, Asia had two distinct royalties—Nepal and Bhutan. With the unnatural ending of the partially feudal legal throne in Nepal, the country ushered in a complex web of mismanaged political arrangements. Later, the prominent advent of the Maoists and Madhes-based political parties were in the right spirit of the times but later developments have shown their inefficiency in dealing with the cores of polity and diplomacy.

Living under an unjustified ‘big brother syndrome’ and making impractical moves for trilateral initiatives have broken down Nepal’s conventional edge vis-à-vis its relation with India. Prachanda’s latest visit to New Delhi was primarily seeking Indian confidence for the Chinese presence back home. This was a sort of blunder, though it was surprisingly overlooked by the Indian side.

Nepal’s external policy should be directed by its own self-interest instead of excuses. The political establishment in Kathmandu should reckon that the diplomatic engagements of two almost equals—India and China—do not happen on a single front but on many counts. Among them, the most formidable is economic ties. Li Keqiang’s first foreign trip as prime minister to India was aimed at settling the border dispute and boosting economic ties. Straight after India, he flew to Pakistan, and total results of his visit have proved abysmal.

China cannot simply throw off the burden of its past. It has a few allies to date and Nepal should not have irrational expectations from China. In the lexicon of Nepal’s political economy, trade should be given extra attention. Trade and diplomacy must be the mainstays of external policy. There is no reason why Nepal should distract from this fundamental understanding. The hyped ploy of breaking conventions has given little positive outcome so far. The lack of any political stalwart is another cause
of concern; the country is missing a pacifier like Girija Prasad Koirala like never before.

New efforts are being made to hold Constituent Assembly elections in November, which will be a great test of the political parties en masse as there is great disenchantment among the populace for their false promises. People’s representatives need to come to terms with the fact that the masses are only concerned with leading the country out of the present mess. The internal atmosphere will shape Nepal’s external policy; so clarity over this would do well for the country’s future course.

In South Asia, Nepal is situated strategically to carry forward its independent stature. Despite the gloom and doom over the last two decades, Nepalis in general have endorsed democracy. This is a sort of accomplishment, as modern ideas and aspirations are routed through such welcome changes. If there is balance on the political home turf, it will be much easier for Nepal to claim its deserved position in the world.

There is no tailor-made solution for a firm footing in external matters except for being internally strong while chasing difficult targets externally. Relying less on theoretical paradigms and taking a more practical approach would make foreign policy maneuvering a more informed exercise. As a sovereign state, the boldness of Nepal’s action should display its sovereignty. Unlike China or India, it has never earned the ire of cunning colonial motives. This is a reality and not bound to be changed.Thus, it allows Nepalis to take pride in its non-interfering nationalistic pedigree.

In the present ideal-deficient time, bilateralism is the order of the day for nations. Hence, Nepal too should define its priorities accordingly. Among the most important changes, it should learn to look beyond India and China as the world is much bigger. With a changed mindset and a mature leadership, Nepal has the capacity to draw resources from beyond.

However, India will stay its closest ally, even when Nepal expands its presence across the globe. China has a different angle on seeing the world but it is a very formidable force in itself, which India has learnt since 1947. Nepal, for a while, can learn from India’s follies in the 1962 war. It is time for a course correction in Nepal.
Atul K Thakur
Email:summertickets@gmail.com
(Published in The Kathmandu Post on July05,2013)

Nepal needs genuine democracy

It's alarming to see that the Himalayan country has no real economic roadmap in place. Industries are either being shut down or they are stagnating. Meanwhile, politics is being shamelessly played out.

In a recent quantum leap, the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), the constituents of United Democratic Madhesi Front and other Madhesi and Janjati parties came together to form a Federal Democratic Republican Alliance, with the professed aim of moving towards ‘a Constitution with federalism, and federalism with identity’. Unfortunately, this hardly presents any positive signal to end the political uncertainty in that country.

The FDRA’s aim is to put pressure on the Nepali Congress and the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) to accept an identity-based restructuring of the state before the polls and then go in for an electoral partnership. Altogether, this alliance has done little more than angering the Opposition and preventing any potential thaw in relations.

The present state of Nepal’s politics allows for such an unusual condominium of parties that make little sense when it comes to resolving the greater political mess in the country. The overblown ambitions of the political class nullify the earlier efforts of democratic experiments. The current state of instability in Nepal seems to be more the result of the behavioural recklessness of politicians rather than the consequence of a celebrated political transition.

Undoubtedly, such pacts and agreements among politicians who are under pressure to survive have pushed governance issues to an all-time low. When the roads were not all rubble and 12-hour-long power cuts were not the norm, things were different. The people of Nepal had hope in the new generation of politicians and their brand of democratic politics.

For instance, the Maoists, until recently, were viewed differently as they focused on inland development and did not wish for Nepal to continue as a dumping ground of imported goods. However, their economic vision has been lost mid-way. Today, the work done by the present Maoist led-Government, headed by the once ideologically pure Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai, is no less disappointing than any of his predecessors.

The wider connect among the people of India and Nepal has remained the cornerstone of ties between these two countries; the bond here is simply unmatchable. Still, the current level of engagement between these two countries is less satisfactory than it used to be in earlier times. From the Indian side, there is need to limit reliance on the diplomatic mission in Kathmandu for all negotiations, most of which should actually be carried out by Ministerial level delegations.

Also, the inadequate response from India in diplomatic engagement has kept Nepal on the margins; in this regard, there is need for course-correction. Greater people-to-people exchanges will help minimise anti-India feelings among a large section of the Nepali population. In the recent past, India has played the role of a cautious yet concerned neighbour, with respect to Nepal’s fluctuating political scenario. But to stop the vendetta of misguided radicals, India should deal with the situation in a proactive manner and without any biases.

Since 1996, Nepal has witnessed a series of troubling developments. Primary among them was the outbreak of the highly violent Maoist insurgency and later the royal massacre of 2001 which pushed the nation into an age of uncertainty. King Birendra had acceptability among the masses and political parties as well; and his willingness to lead Nepal to democracy was well known. It is true that had he still been alive, the credibility of the throne would not have been lost so early and without the emergence of any better substitute. Before 2001, Nepal was a nation in political transition. Now, it is a land ruled by leaders, who have no other plans except to walk with their erroneous ideas.

It’s alarming to see that Nepal really has no economic roadmap in place. Industries are either being shut down or they are stagnating. Janakpur, a remarkable city in the Terai region, has no other industry apart from a state commanded cigarette factory. As a result, the city is far worse today than it was twenty years ago.

This problem is contagious. The condition of Nepal’s other big cities is not very different. Nepali leaders visiting New Delhi have no will to execute the Memorandums of Understanding signed with the Indian Government or the Indian private sector in the areas of thermal power, telecommunications, tourism etc.

Until the political class reacts to economic impulses, things in Nepal will be hard to change. Nepal deserves a better deal than shrinking under the false promises of undeserving politicians. Democracy is indeed desirable but only if Nepal has chances of getting a real one, not something clownish in its place.
Atul Kumar Thakur
September 29, 2012, Saturday
Email: summertickets@gmail.com
(Published in The Pioneer, dated on September 20, 2012/ http://www.dailypioneer.com/columnists/item/52487-nepal-needs-genuine-democracy.html )

Bihar's Industrial Renaissance

Once synonymous with the "land of opportunities", the outbreak of political corruption in the early 1990's saw Bihar fall from grace. Long periods of misrule based on casteist politics in the guise of social justice thwarted progress and development in the state. Post liberalisation, while other states were riding the high tide of growth, Bihar was wading through (political) inaction which defied growth aspirations that tolled and shambled its impressions outside. Between 1990 and 2004, Bihar suffered hardships more acutely than those revealed by any official statistics.

Due to strong political governance, Bihar had been one of the performing Indian states prior to 1990; it lost that edge in the next fifteen years. The process of recuperation began with the arrival of a thinking leader, Nitish Kumar, in 2005. He took charge of a state in ruins and made it thoroughly functional and even competent by boosting basic services such as infrastructure, law and order. This has had a radical impact and helped metamorphose the state's work culture positively.

Post independence, India's planned economy was single-mindedly shaped on an industrial policy targeted towards developing heavy industries near raw material supply centres along with creating an effective infrastructure network for mobilising the resources among different aimed destinations. An undivided Bihar, with its rich mineral base and close proximity to Kolkata for transport access, became an exciting hunting ground for large scale investments. The operations of Tata Iron and Steel Company (Tisco) in Jamshedpur and public sector units like SAIL in Bokaro testify to the positive prospects Bihar was offering. Despite the flaws of policies regarding traditional communities, new industrial cities such as Ranchi, Bokaro, Jamshedpur, Dhanbad and others came up under the changed policy atmosphere.

The pattern of industrial policy manoeuvrings in the initial five years plans significantly influenced the shaping of growth prospects in Bihar for the long run. Their impact was felt in three different ways. Firstly, the resource rich southern parts of Bihar, especially the regions of Chhota Nagpur emerged as the hub of industries. Secondly, over emphasis on heavy industries in South Bihar undermined any chances of developing agro-based industries in the naturally conducive Gangetic plane of northern region of the state. Consequently, the industries of southern Bihar failed to establish any significant interface with the minor industries located in North Bihar. In the absence of such strong linkages between south and North Bihar, the bifurcation of the state in the year 2000 (the creation of Jharkhand) came as a severe blow to the newly formed Bihar.

Moreover, the bifurcation resulted in some structural changes in the overall industrial pattern of Bihar. All big mineral based industrial houses were located in the new state of Jharkhand and very few large scale industries are left in post bifurcated Bihar. Thus,there have been no mineral based industries in the state and the industrial enterprises were bound to be restricted in lightweight segments such as agro-based, food processing, textiles, leather, wood and paper industries.

Despite this, macroeconomic overview on the economy of Bihar marked a significant increase in Gross State Domestic Product(GSDP) since the beginning of the last decade and during the second half of the decade. As per the Central Statistical Organization (CSO), the average annual growth of GSDP in Bihar has been robust at 8.5 per cent during the period 1999-00 to 2009-10 and more importantly in the second half of the decade. During the period from 2005-06 to 2009-10, the state income of Bihar grew at an impressive average annual growth of 10.9 per cent.

As a result, the economy of Bihar has undergone major structural changes during the last decade with the changes in composition of its GSDP between 2000-01 and 2009-10. The share of agriculture has declined from 38.8 per cent in 2000-01 to 20.8 per cent in 2009-10. On the other hand, the share of secondary sector increased from 10.7 per cent to 19.9 per cent and share of the service sector increased from 50.5 per cent to 59.4 per cent during the same time period. But the Per Capita Income (PCI), measured by the per capita net state domestic product at current prices, of Bihar remained abysmally low at Rs 13,663 compared to all India average of Rs 37,490 in 2008-09.

The fiscal front of the Bihar shows that the gross fiscal deficit ratio to GSDP is at 2.7 per cent in 2010-11 which is within the desirable Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) target level. The revenue receipt/GSDP ratio is also at a comfortable level in Bihar at 28.1 per cent for 2010-11 and the state enjoys a revenue surplus as per the budget estimate of 2010-11. Bihar is among the top states when it comes to central transfer (CT). The 2010-11 budget shows a CT- GSDO ratio at 21 per cent. Even Bihar's expenditure pattern is very impressive as the state spends mostly under the heads of developmental expenditure, social service expenditure and capital outlay. Therefore, Bihar gives strongest fundamentals, which are considered essential for sizable investments; undoubtedly it has an undeniable edge on this in eastern side.

Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) have been playing major role in the economy of Bihar. 2000 onwards this trend has grown stronger. As on 2010-11, the state has about 183729 registered MSME units with a total investment of Rs 1,275 crores, which creates employment to about 6 lakh people. According to the fourth all India survey of micro, small and medium enterprises conducted in 2006-07 by Ministry of MSME, a total number of 71,435 enterprises were surveyed in Bihar. Out of these surveyed enterprises, 52,188 MSME units are operational. These operational units constitute more than 73 per cent of total number of enterprises surveyed in Bihar during 2006-07. The future growth of industry in Bihar will be continuing heavily propelled by MSMEs.

A FICCI- KAF (Konrad Adeneur Foundation) report has made wide-ranging recommendations for improving industrial growth in the state. The suggestions, based on industry's feedback on land allocation, power, labour, taxation, transport infrastructure, marketing, credit availability, technology upgradation and agri-led industrial development, were based on macroeconomic assessments.CII too has made recommendations for Bihar's industrial growth; interestingly a wide ranging policy convergence could be seen with the pragmatism of state government.

More than the availability of resources, Bihar's industrial saturation or deterioration was caused by the inaction of policy makers. With the upgradation of machinery and absence of subversive politics in Bihar the focus on growth is evident from the signing of more than 176 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for major business deals. Nevertheless, rate of execution is still short of a satisfactory primarily because of the Centre's apathy to provide coal linkage for the critical needs of thermal power in the state. Despite north Bihar being a rich resource of water, hydroelectricity capacity of the state remains abysmal.

There is huge potential in the flood affected districts of Madhubani, Saharsa, Supaul, Sitamarhi,Purnea, Araria, Kishanganj, Katihar to be used as the cluster of hydroelectric generation through effective water management for commercial uses. This can help make Darbhanga a major industrial city in the north Bihar; with historical preeminence and excellent geographical location, this place deserves to retrieve its lost glory. A new vision with comprehensive action plans is needed to include Bihar's northern regions (Mithilanchal) in the proper growth framework. This will not only help in boosting entrepreneurship in these regions alone but across the state. Also a renewed negotiation with Nepal is need of this hour; Patna must be allowed to play bigger role in the future bilateral dialogues of India and Nepal.

Today Bihar presents the ideal high ground for attracting investments and business activities from both within and outside. Among the eastern states, Bihar has a clear lead for placing its claim for a new potential based on its immaculate governance and a regime of clean politics. Hitherto, it was never so persistently resonant and especially after one and a half decades of intense gloom, the new found optimism in Bihar is a 'pleasant end to a tragedy'. Under the sea of changes, the concentration of debate has shifted from 'parochialism to progressivism'. This gives big hope to industry becasue unlike Gujrat, in Bihar, both the politics and enterprise are rational and sustainable, so there is no longer any reason of industry's inhibitions to operationalise its activities in the state. The culture of coalition politics mars the unbiased functioning of the state, this is quite clear with the Centre's consistent apathy to assist the Bihar through special aides in last seven years. However, Bihar's growth agenda will not be compressed too much and the present sense of optimism should be maintained.
Atul Kumar Thakur
August31st2012,Friday
Email: summertickets@gmail.com
(Published in Businessworld on August 13th2012/ http://businessworld.in:8080/en/storypage/-/bw/bihar%E2%80%99s-industrial-renaissance/473137.30752/page/0 )

Wariness and hope in UP!

Neither Jeremy Bentham’s utilitarian search of “maximum happiness” in a democracy, or Marxist’s approach for classless society within a complete socialistic state fit well to idealise the Samajwadi Party’s sudden emphatic and unprecedented rise in recently held UP assembly election. Instead Machiavellian aspirations seems more closely working behind the modestly deserving transfer of baton to once this unholy entity and now a less worse option, which still believe much ahead from auxiliary terms on the effectiveness of crime and criminals!

Whose early sign is induction of well known history-sheeter Raja Bhaiya in Akhilesh Yadav’s front placed cabinet. If also adding some early hooliganism of flamboyant Samajwadi Party workers in Lucknow and various other parts of the state in the wake of unexpected poll victory, the fallacy of change appears more quickly. At this point, arguing against the statistical over performance of SP is really very daunting but hardly the same dilemma would be haunting, if one will dare to see the political change in UP not very genuine unlike Bihar in 2005.

If then Nitish Kumar was chosen with BJP as the resort of last hope in crumbling Bihar, it was because the situation indeed so far became so much starker in the hand of corrupt RJD, indifferent Congress, distracted LJP, weak Communist parties, that it had to be an inevitable occurrence. But the same is still not true in UP with BSP stands with 26% votes even in the dire anti-incumbency wave unlike the principle opposition parties in Bihar which touched the brink of extinction in last assembly election held in 2010. That refers, BSP will be remain a major political force in UP despite this fall and for securing SP from BSP’s potential revival in future, Akhilesh has to fight hard against his own party’s shortcomings beside ensuring the governance and investment in state instead of luring peoples with harmful freebies alone.

As young scion of almost a family run party, SP, Akhilesh too didn't have any magical wand to supersede Rahul Gandhi but his symbolic gestures of averseness with crime and sacking of infamous liability, D.P.Yadav in last moments worked miraculously very well. Earlier too, he played sensible part in sidelining Mohan Singh, throwing Amar Singh out from the party and in pacifying the parochial ambitions of old party carders including of his two uncles who lately shown discomfort for his leadership. As an aging father and leader, Mulayam Singh Yadav couldn't have better time than this to secure his family domination continues. And ofcourse, Akhislesh was the sole hope for him, same thought by the hapless masses and history was made differently in haste!

Moreover BSP has shown in recent past how India's democracy could be participative and spoiling platform for identity activism. Over the years, under excessive personified command of Mayawati, party left merely with a shadow of its earlier self and ironically, its core afflicted with all feudal tracts against those the Bahujan Samaj movement was once formed and propelled. That lead to spoiling resentment against the party’s fortune, and finally a broad base of support fragmented, alienated and rejected the BSP as a party to rule any longer in Lucknow.

However, in snapshot, consistent follies of Congress could be solely attributed for atleast seventy-five more seats and increasing one sided support for SP. Rest BJP and RLD fought and gain as par their conserving capacities, so shocks and awes in their camps are naturally restricted. State politics acts like mirror of Indian democracy; it has proven again with the verdict of UP elections...the basic functional ideas won over the structured and over surfacial political shrewdness of BSP, Congress, BJP, and RLD!

So far known for his clean and progressive image, if the new chief minister as par promises would have no disinterest with being the anti-thesis of his own party’s practicing ideologies, then indeed his stint will make people hopeful. For now, it would be desirable for him to keep the maligned components within the party and outside of it on its toe, for completely concentrating on the much needed developmental priorities. So far, he has clean image and that’s encouraging even amidst the approaching uncertainties of performances lying ahead. If he will win the small races, he would sure be more acceptable as leader among masses.

As grooming prudent practitioner of grassroot politics, here need is for him or anyone else in fray to not confuse statistical supremacy as absolute beingness, instead for permanency, political ideas should always chase the long term capabilities that lie in securing consistent mass base. He is more fortunate than Nitish Kumar in Bihar, as he have not succeeded a bankrupt state economy but still many challenges are umpteenth and identical, for that looking on Bihar model of revival would not be a wasted attempt for him. Beyond the essential execution of governance policies and infrastructure development, fetching industrial investment would be a challenging task for Akhilesh Yadav.

Here a conscious effort have to be made from his side, as the closeness of respective cohorts have did immensely harm to the UP’s industrial prospects in past. Notwithstanding the old paradigms would be desirable from mass point of views, so it will be healthy for new government too. Afterall the reasons of jubilation have come from people and rationally, it should be reverted back if the windblown was really pragmatic.

In my preceding piece (The Boisterous UP Election Scene, Mainstream, February 11, 2012) on similar theme, I was close with my opinion for SP lead government in UP but in numbers terms neither I had speculated nor felt it essential. What for me the basis of change was after feeling the fragility of political acts that done by all rest parties barring SP-this was the sole party in contest which had a fresh and clean leader to offer. Between wariness and hope, the new leadership was accepted, rest time will set the course in UP!
Atul Kumar Thakur
March 23, 2012, Friday, New Delhi
Email: summertickets@gmail.com
(Published in Mainstream Weekly,June 09,2012)

Comrade's Introspection!

After the fall of left in West Bengal and Kerala, no man is as worried as A.B.Bardhan, the General Secretary of CPI. Today he is restless at the age of 88, despite the fact, that his party did well comparing other left parties. But this legendary Comrade needs no excuse…he is man at work now with new framework to retrieve the CPI as well as left parties much essential ground touch, also eyeing to enter in the crucial psyche of great Indian middle class and youth. Recently we had two hour straight long conversation at historic Ajay Bhavan in Delhi…sitting in at his office {probably his last year as top rank of CPI}, he shared future roadmap of left politics in India and also spoke on many new issues …excerpts…
Q: - How CPI is reconciling with the situation emerged out of the recent poll debacles in West Bengal and Kerala?
A: - Election results in West Bengal and Kerala was very disappointing but for different reasons. In Kerala, power has been almost alternatively won either by the LDF or UDF. This time, it was the turn of UDF, but as you know, the LDF felt short by only three seats. Those three seats, we lost by the very narrow margins. In West Bengal, it was truly a debacle, later we have analyzed the scenario and told openly, why the left front lost so badly after being in power for thirty four years. In a way, the voters in the State have mandated the left front to seat in the opposition for this term. I think, we should work like a true constructive opposition allows the new people learn from their experience about this new coalition government and retrace our links with the masses. The sense of alienation must be allowed to change.

Q: - Which factors are blocking the potential integration of Communist parties?
A: - The last four-five decades have seen the growth of many divisive factors, such as communalism, casteism, regionalism and so others. Parties have up exploit these factors and divert the attention of peoples. We have not been able to overcome these divisive factors and rallying the working peoples behind us. This is especially true in the vast Hindi belt. In particular, I am refereeing to our weakness among the rural masses, which are decisive in elections. We are working to overcome these hindrances by decisively turning our faces to the rural India. Cast vs. cast requires a sensitive approach to the problem of castes, particularly with the oppressed castes and the marginalized sections. As I think, there has been erosion in many of our old existing rural bases, therefore expanding and consolidating such rural bases is our priority task. Taking up these issues like land, water, employment and a stand against the price rise will be start of our fresh struggle, which have badly affected the already miserable access to food, health and education. The CPI is in the process, now of holding conferences at branch, Anchal, District, and State levels culminating in the All India Party Congress by March/April 2012. In all these conferences, the issues mentioned will be top in agenda. We are also working toward joint work and action between the two major Communist parties rallying along them all other left oriented parties and movements for strengthening left unity. Communist unity will be the core of left unity; only then, we can advance towards setting of left and democratic unity which can be the framework of a real alternative to both the major bourgeoisie parties, namely Congress and BJP. Such a combination will be the true secular and democratic front. Any other adhock combination, solely based on electoral arithmetic will not inspire confidence among peoples. In my view, the time is right because, the credibility of the Congress and BJP are at low level; people are looking forward to an alternative to replace them. Mobilisation of all these forces requires also the development of unity and united action among the mass organisations. The overarching coming together of all Central Trade Unions, whatever will be the political colour of leadership, is a case in point. They have taken up the issues confronting for the common peoples all over the country. Kisan organisations are also moving in that direction.

Q: - On many occasions, CPI has made intuitive in this regard, but those didn’t worked out by the denial of CPI {M}, why such inhibitions are growing among the fellow Comrades? In the past, CPI leaders, including Chaturanan Mishra tried to unify the progressive Trade Union Movement but that couldn’t be substantially materialised. In this direction, do you see any constructive development in the days ahead?
A: - The CPI is committed to the goal of Communist unity but this cannot be done in hurry. It’s true, the reaction to our moves have not been very positive but issues like, the programme, the organisational principles and the tactical line requires to be discussed and agreed upon. Afterall we have to fight back the legacy of a split that kept us apart for more than four decades. However, it’s a welcome sign that the perceptions of the two Communist parties are almost the same on national and international affairs, also on economic and political issues. This, I think created a good atmosphere though a sense of rivalry still persists. As far as the ideology is concerned, both the parties are committed to Marxism/Leninism and to the goal of socialism. The point is to apply the scientific theory in the complex and changing Indian and world conditions. As far as Trade Union Movement is concerned, we are working together now and very closely…it’s making good impacts. Things will be more visible very soon…

Q: - Why CPI’s stronghold in Bihar and Jharkhand is receding consistently? Once way of life in north Bihar, now Communism is becoming an alien ideology, don’t you think, CPI failed to forward the next generation leadership after Comrade Bhogendra Jha and Chaturanan Misha?
Q: - Bihar has been a relatively strong support base of CPI, this base was built through tremendous struggle and sacrifices led by Comrade Chandrashekhar Singh, Indradeep Sinha, Suryanarayan Singh, Bhogendra Jha, Chaturanan Mishra and many others. Have already said,; that erosion took place when this base was subjected to the caste politics, in Bihar ugliest caste politics was led by Lalu Prasad Yadav and others. The communal politics of the BJP and so not to be mention our own failures and shortcomings equally accounted in this fall. Bihar is a State, where huge mess of agricultural and marginal workers is on the one hand and land lords on the other. There is still huge scope and need for a class struggle between the two and to implement the land reforms. The so called Land Reform Commission has already detailed the issue of this struggle for land redistribution, land for house sites etc. The government and also some of the opposition parties have to do nothing on this core issue, it’s for the Communist’s to lead the battle of class vs. class and take the focus away from caste vs. caste.

Q: - Why Communism is still being determined by the texts rather contemporary contexts? Why not, CPI should follow more the Marx’ progressive line rather of Lenin’s technical programme?
A: - The world has changed but imperialism and capitalism continues exists; what we see today is a big crisis that has overtaken capitalism. It can’t solve the problem of unemployment, poverty and even illiteracy and disease. India is also changed in the course of last six and half decades since the independence but facts reveals that the capitalist path of the government, that’s being pursued and the so called new liberal policies of privatization, liberlisation and globalization have only aggravated all our problems. Disparities between the super rich and affluent section, which is only 10%of our population, and the overwhelming mass of poor and vulnerable sections has deepened and widened as never before. They talk of growth but if development means that, all sections are benefitted, we find that there is actually no development for the majority, particularly SCs, STs, minorities and the most backward sections are excluded from all this talk of growth. That’s why, we find outburst of discontent, indignation and so forth. This is the socio-economic basis of many of ours that afflicts us today. The free market, the so called trickledown theories have all proved to be for the benefit of the top layer, while mass remains excluded. No wonder, we have price rise, high level corruption and so called left wing terrorism which the government describes as the biggest security threat. Today, mass of the peoples have alienated from the present system and its governance. The more of the talk of law&order, the more alienation takes place, the more the indulging repression and denial of democratic rights, the more is the mass outburst. In this scenario, text and contexts, both are equally imperative for us.


Q: - AITUC has introduced labour class movement in India; it has been doing remarkable work over the years albeit new conditions after the market reform now necessitate policy changes. What framework CPI has to go deep to both the conventional and neo workers?
A: - I am happy to say that AITUC has taken the initiative in forging all in unity of Central Trade Union organisation and I am glad that the objective situation has forged all of them towards united action. We should first know that government has virtually banned any Trade Union or association among IT/ITES and many other sectors, their workers are being kept isolated. But I am confident, this moves by the government and corporate houses will be defeated soon rather than later.

Q: - What’s the CPI’s official position on market reform? Is there any possibility that CPI will support the reform with progressive clauses?
A: - There is confusion about markets. Markets existed even before capitalism and there will be markets even under the socialism. The point is under which system that markets operates? The so called market economy that’s functional today is a naked devise to extract and maximize profits; profits without limit by foreign and indigenous corporate houses and big businesses. It’s an instrument of imperialism for exploitation of the developing countries and of capitalist exploitation of the poors within each country. To call this reform, is not only misnomer, it’s a cruel joke.

Q: - Didn’t allowing Jyoti Basu for Prime Ministership in 1996 wasn’t a “historic blunder” for Communist parties as well as for the Indian democracy?
A: - As you know, he has himself called it a “historical blunder”, I agree with him.

Q: - With left parties, UPA-I was a different political coalition, after yours departure, series of scams became incessant-why not left parties should fight all the Loksabha seats and move forward for a strong alternative coalition at Centre?
A: - I think, left parties by themselves are not in a position to contest all the Loksbha seats, that’s why we want left and democratic unity, which will take along with the left and all other secular democratic parties, forces and individuals. Moreover, what we needed is electoral reforms, which will save the electoral process from the grip of money/muscle power. As you know, the left parties have been talking of the Proportional Representation system , which will do away with the First Past the Post System prevailing presently in which moneyed individuals uses all tricks to get elected, even with minority votes.

Q: - In the coming days, will CPI accommodate many sidelined issues in its agenda? How CPI will draw the attention of middle class and youth, whose roles have become substantially vital in all sphere?
A: - The middle class has proliferated considerably. But it’s not homogenous. While the upper layers hope to reach out to the top, the lower sections are subjected to corruption, price rise and are the victims of exploitation. However, on the whole, it’s a great opinion builder and therefore Communist and the left have to re-orient them to work among the large sections of the middle class and make substantial inspiration to draw the middle class towards progressive and democratic causes.

Q: - How you are viewing the current stand of Indian foreign policy? Have our stature strengthened in the world after twenty years of liberalisation programme?
A: - India’s foreign policy, unfortunately moved away from its anti-imperialist and the solidarity with countries fighting for democratic advancement to a policy of increasing strategic partnership with the U.S and developed west. But India is a big and assertive country, today there are no issues in international relations which can be solved without the participation of India and China. The combination of BRIC, BASIC and SCO, which have brought together India and China, Russia, Brazil and the South Africa, is a very important development. India can secure a stable strategic place in world affairs with being part of these alternative international formations instead of getting its position fixed as piggyback of international forces.
Atul Kumar Thakur
September 30, 2011, Wednesday, New Delhi
Email: summertickets@gmail.com

Looking close on North East

With remarkable commitment and idealist standing in public life, the Sikkim Loksabha MP Prem Das Rai is an epitome of purposeful entry in to politics. Though serving first term in Losabha but he exudes all the veteran’s qualities with sound understanding of his own State and the entire north east. Today he is among the few most promising leaders from the north east who has clear roadmap for future…recently, in a rainy morning in New Delhi, we had a long conversation. Excerpts…
Q: - Sikkim is least populated and second smallest after the Goa, how does it feel to represent the State in Central politics?
A: - We have only one Lok Sabha constituency…so, its big honour for me to represent 6.5 lakhs peoples since 2009. Although in various capacities, I have been trying my best to serve the Sikkim and entire north east at large…so far, journey in public life is quite satisfying.

Q: - You hold a unique distinction among the Parliamentarians so far to be alumni of the top prestigious institutions, like IIT/IIM…how idea came for politics, while serving remarkably well in corporate sector?
A: - Idea of politics was always in mind as hailing from a political family background. Father, C.D.Rai was in politics…so leaning for politics grew from table discussion at home. Though later, father moved to government service facing some compelling financial reasons…in those days, politics used to be full with idealism where dividend were restricted to satisfaction of serving peoples. Despite this, my orientation towards politics grew further in School {Masoori} and later in college. During that period, C.K.Lal {then Governor, Sikkim} encouraged and mentored me to join politics, which I did few years later.

Q: - You were at IIT Kanpur when the Sikkim merged with India as its twenty-second State…was the end of Chogyal’s long rule came as shock for the indigenous communities? How different was and still is the perception of elites in this regard?
A: - It was indeed a shock and there was resistance but not something like a real fight. Protesters were out of match with the Indian forces, so transition ended soon with a toll of one life. The elites were supportive to the independence, so strategic move of Indira Gandhi succeeded well.

Q: - Among the States of north-east and even beyond, Sikkim presents a sort of hope for democracy…over the years, stable rule of your party {Sikkim Democratic Front, SDF}has kept enhancing the potential of Sikkim, will be you share with us, how SDF has been prioritizing the local issues?
A: - SDF came into power in 1994. It was a transition period…anti-India campaign and other adverse political issues were haunting this newly formed State. Until 1994, adverseness remained at place but when Pawan Kumar Chamling came in to power as Chief Minister, he articulated new democratic paradigms. Rest is history, today if you see the Sikkim; there nobody has any existential problems. Freedom of Speech is prevailing…peoples are peace loving, so they enjoying their democratic rights in full spirits. Over the seventeen years of our rule, tremendous progresses have been made inside the State. By 2015, we will be the first Indian Organic State, and also a tourist hub…our sophisticated Human Resource, strong grassroot democracy and free press are in full tune and giving Sikkim the bright prospects.

Q: - Before coming into politics, you have worked with Bank of America and BASIX {in eastern zone} and have seen the ground level situation from close, which factors in your views are the impediments for complete exploration of the north east?
A: - I think impediments are essential…if you look on Sikkim; it becomes evident that bottom level democracy has many grave complications. Autonomous aspirations are key…other thing; women’s representation is very feeble in local politics, here needed immediate attention from the government. Most essentially, we need to give better governance by ensuring accountability and people’s participation in the overall governance framework.

Q: - Our north east region gives us an edge over China that leads to irritation of China. China reacts on this time to time by acknowledging Sikkim as an independent territory. Do China has some imperialistic motives or simply it’s hard for them to see Tibet closely connected through an Indian State?
A: - China’s issues are much larger-they want to strategically dominate over our eastern part to western part. They have game plans to secure their frontier to strengthen their stand in Tibet and western China. For China, Sikkim is a small tool to irritate the Indian authorities…Ministry of External Affairs {MEA} needs to think carefully on the whole issue. Dalai Lama has huge following in Sikkim; we want 11th Karmapa {Ugen Trineley} back at the centre of learning which is sheet of governance/Rungtek Monastery. We have been repeatedly telling the government at Centre to help on this issue…till now, no substantial gain has achieved on this but we are trying our level best and hoping positive in future.

Q: - During the Chogyal’s rule, Sikkim shared a mix relationship with Nepal but on most of time in hostility…Gurkha war {1814, Nepal vs Sikkim/British Esat India Company} fought and joint forces were defeated by Nepales, tension finally ended with the return of land by Nepal to Sikkim through Titalia Treaty {1817}, how historical factors are influencing India-Nepal co-operation in Sikkim?
A: - There is no real issue with the historical ties. More or less, it was balanced post Indian independence in 1947 with the Delhi treaty signed between Prime Minister Nehru and Nepal’s King Tribhuvan . Though many issues need relooking, henceforth India must rethink its policies on Nepal if not wanted to backyarded by the China. As far the Titalia Treaty is concerned, it has nothing to do with the present India-Nepal relations. Legislatures of the both sides can work in streamlining the ties and taking forward the bilateral relations. Recently, a Nepali Parliamentary delegation has visited Delhi, we were happy to share our thought on the various issues. We warmly appreciate our historical relations with Nepal.

Q: - What’s the current state of Kalapani dispute over the Mahkali River water {Sarda River in India}? How Sikkim government, along with the co-operation of Bihar government can think for reasserting the revision in contentious treaty of Sugauli {1819}?
A: - I think boundary issues are very contentious…it need a thorough check up of the concerned matters. However, we should help Nepal in this phase of political transition…further; we are always ready for inter-state co-operation.

Q: - Do the current developments on ULFA give some long-lasting positive indications? Are you satisfied with the recent co-operation of Bangladesh?
A: - I think Bangladesh government is very co-operative at this time, besides we can think on western powers but we need a diligent outlook in neighbouring nations. We have to be in comfortable relations with our principal neighbours …whatever we have gained from Bangladesh or Bhutan is an outcome of similar practices.

Q: - What’s the major boost up, Sikkim and entire north east is needed from Delhi? Despite have very reach human/natural resources, what keeping isolationism high in north east?
A: - I am looking at the developments happening in western/northern/southern part of India…only eastern parts are lagging behind. North east has huge population facing international boundaries…our stake is substantially high in sharing international border as mainland part of India. It means, to reach out to these countries and make the economies stronger. We need to have better facilities for trade, but first we needed better connectivity with the mainland.

Q: - Are you satisfied with the implementation of Centre’s development programmes in north east? Why the penetration of formal banking is so low in these terrains, isn’t the goal of financial inclusion seems a pipe dream?
A: - See, Centre sponsored schemes topped down without looking on the ground realities. We need to rethink on mechanism…NRHM/NREGA etc requires another policy intervention for their functional implementation! 12th Plan offers great opportunity on these issues…next five years will be very crucial for development. MFI’s are grappling with regulatory issues…massive problems happenings needs to be recouped, real losses must be stopped. Regulations need to be put up in place. MFI bill needs to be rational, in the winter session of Parliament; MFI’s Act may come into existence. Andhra Pradesh has created all mess, rest inner issues have to be solved by the MFI’s themselves. Yes, banking needs more penetration in north eastern States, current state of affairs is not satisfactory at all.

Q: - How the indigenous tribes of Sikkim respond on the matter of national importance? Do modernism catching up these segments?
A: - Sikkim has high literacy rate, so modernism is the way for majority of its population. Except the few places, they are participating in the developmental programmes. Tourism is the big factor for this new resilience in the state.

Q: - What’s your view on Armed Force Special Power Act {AFSPA}?
A: - This is a draconian act and should be dropped immediately.

Q: - Will north east be a stronger hub of international trade?
A: - Certainly, but we have to adopt a flexible stand on the open border trade. Through better co-operation with Myanmar, India can smoothly carry forward its “Look east policy” in South East Asia.

Atul Kumar Thakur
September 9, 2011, Friday, New Delhi
Email: summertickets@gmail.com

Politics for greater common goods!

Baijayant “Jay” Panda was elected to the Parliament of India, from Kendrapara Loksabha Constituency, Odhisa in May 2009. Earlier Panda had been twice elected to Parliament, Rajya Sabha in 2000 and 2006, also from the State of Odhisa. He is a member of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) party.Panda represents the new face of Indian politicians, several of whom have been educated abroad and have had alternate careers before choosing to serve the nation through politics. Panda graduated from the Michigan Technological University and, with a background in Engineering and Management, worked in the corporate sector before joining politics. He assisted the late Biju Patnaik and subsequently Naveen Patnaik, who founded the Biju Janata Dal party, which has found strong acceptance from the people of Odhisa and has been repeatedly voted back in elections. An avid reader and writer, Mr.Panda represents the shining face of Indian democracy, recently we had a long conversation at his residence in New Delhi…excerpts are...

Q: - As a leader and Parliamentarian, how would you rate the leadership crisis in UPA-II over Anna Hazare led Civil Society movement?
A:- It appears as government had no game plan, so taken contradictory position on Anna Hazare at time to time. It certainly indicates towards the leadership crisis.

Q: - Do Lokpal bill will be a panacea against the corruption? How do you see the next course of action from Parliament on this bill?
A: - Nothing including the Lokpal bill will be a panacea; instead it will be making a very big dent against the corruption. We have also need to take other steps, such as passing the long pending Judicial Commission Bill. India has huge shortage of Judges for its population compare to other countries and system needs to be overhauled for speedy appointments as well as accountability in the Judiciary.

Q: - If broadly looking on Jan Lokpal team, it appears, they hardly represent Civil Society at large, do you see somewhere it might be popular anger against the corruption and media participation that manipulated the whole demonstration?
A: - There are many aspects of Civil Society but certainly peoples behind Jan Lokpal constitute one element in taking this issue forward to its logical conclusion. Now Parliament has to play the final role but all the other stakeholders including Civil Society, Media, and Judiciary have also played big role in making ground against the corruption.

Q: - As a Columnist and a prolific voice in the opposition, how do you look on the dwindling investor’s confidence& FDI in our economy? Now, even our own high shot entrepreneurs are increasingly looking outside for business...should we acknowledge the big flaws in our reform/growth agenda?

A: - It’s a proven fact that the least corrupt countries also have the freest economy. Over the last twenty years, Indian economy has consistently got an unprecedented scale that lifted more than twenty crores peoples out of stark poverty. Also, sluggish issues of past such as, licensing has now gone but continuous reforms are necessary to tackle the new forms of corruption which are linked to remaining discretionary powers that should be change in favour of rule based procedures.

Q: - What should be the policy response for reassertion of people’s natural boisterousness? How to retrieve the moral sentiments, whose absence is keeping our democracy in backyard?
A: - The public has right to be agitated in a free country like ours, particularly on the corruption. It’s happening due to politicians abdicating their duties. If politicians do not act in reforming nation’s problems, then it would be essential for others like Civil Society, Media, and Judiciary to step in that vacuum.

Q: - Do regional parties {including BJD} along with the left parties can turn for an alternative political formation at centre? I mean a government without Congress and BJP?
A: - For now, I can’t speculate on such alliances but strongly hold a view that regional parties have succeeded for good reasons. India is a diverse country and no one or two parties can cater the needs of entire nation.

Q: - You represents in Loksabha from Odhisha {Kendrapara}, you also have government in state besides hailing from a business background in mining-don’t you think, the existing mining policies needs substantial changes? What’s your vision for ensuring the long term stake of local communities in mining companies?
A: - Just for clarification, my family business background is more than fifty years old and primarily functional in the engineering, along with captive and not in commercial mining. I agree with you, mining sector needs a lot reforms, many of the policies are opaque and led to abuse of authority. Grant of mining leases should be operated by the open auction and royalty rates must be revised upward to enable funds for development and benefits of the local population.

Q: - What immediate changes are needed on Land Acquisition Act? How government should approach for fair land acquisition policies?
A: - The principle should be followed for greatest good for greatest numbers. There must be a cut of 70-80%of displaced peoples and their consent must be preceded everytime before the land can be acquired. Also, the compensation should be revised sharply upward including ensuring long term benefits and preferential selection in job.

Q: - Naxalism, so far have been either treated academically or autocratically that worsened the plights of disadvantaged groups, how you will be like to see democracy working on this very grave issue?
A: - Development must go hand in hand with prioritizing the humane aspects. Naxalism has originally merged and strengthened by the lack of government action, but now, Naxal forces are playing dangerous game with wrong means of extortion and stoppage of development. Government needs to make large investment in infrastructure/education and raising the governance level in Naxal affected areas…cracking down on the violence shall be another immediate action from government.

Q: - Lastly, what measures should be drawn to end the unfair electoral funding?
A: - This is the fundamental problem impacting policies, transparency and governance. There should be a major electoral reform, particularly regarding electoral funding where we can learn from the other democracy where one solution is state funding of electoral expenses. It is much essential to move in this direction, a fair mechanism of electoral funding will be a new chapter in our democracy. Every action for fairness in system must be welcomed and participated by its all stakeholders.
Atul Kumar Thakur
September 7, 2011, Wednesday, New Delhi

Tells of 24 Akbar Road etc!

Book Review: 24Akbar Road
Author: Rasheed Kidwai
Format: Hardback/Non-fiction
Language: English
Pages: 295
Price: RS.495
Publishers: Hachette/2011
Even before writing this book, and earlier Sonia: A Biography, Rasheed's grip on Congress Party affairs was undoubtedly out of match...as political reporter for years, he carried the best practices of journalism without using the mileage of political proximity. Such impartiality and presentation of truth is evident in most part of the book and that must be considered his big success. With my own high impression, I will consider this book an “essential read” for all those want to know India’s single most ruling party in multidimensional ways. Here, Rajdeep Sardesai’s rating of this book as “thriller” needs to be little more stretched in favour and shall be taken in proper light as the Rasheed’s 24 Akbar Road is out of sycophancy.

Until few years back, when Ramchandra Guha has written “India after Gandhi”, there was terrible shortage of documentation on modern India, especially on Indian democracy. Whatever we could remember before those were either stodgy writings in academic fashion or ran by views in fantasy…with little or no puts of social history, those works were hardly genuine in the historical narratives. Though 24Akbar Road naturally has leaning with political historiography, yet it delved substantially too with the socio-economic perspectives that gives readers insightful accounts of all important events in post-colonial India. Like, recalling the very crucial nationalization of banks and Coal Mines as “With the single stroke of pen, nationalized fourteen banks and Coal Mines”…beautifully narratives are at place, so are the abundancy of many hidden or less known history of Congress, and infact even about the many bungalows of Lutyns Zone, including of historical 7Jantar Mantar Road, which is an end past now for Congress.

As the existing Congress party represents more or less an unusual dualism in its action, so it’s praiseworthy, the way Rasheed has given good light where the proper works have been done by Indira Gandhi and Rajiv and defiance for the power mongers with akin to rose the rank either “by hook or crook”. Indian National Congress has indeed a unique characteristic of hierarchy which sharply cuts the topmost position for an outsider…sole exception of P.V.Narsimha Rao {Manmohan Singh is reluctantly at helm of affairs} was a conditional outcome of tragical spontaneity that arose out of Rajiv Gandhi’s unfortunate assassination in 1991. There were no other reasons, he could have Prime Minister without the sudden delinking of Gandhi family-when it reinstated, Mr. Rao was sidelined to the level of oblivion. His fall after Sonia’s arrival in politics and unjustified prominence of incapable and odd Sitaram Kesari will be remain a severe blot on the democratic credential of Congress party!

Unparalleled prerogatives of Nehru, grace in compatibility with the power of Indira, and modernism of Rajiv has covered lucidly. Book also tries well to capture the persona of Sanjay Gandhi in different way, it vehementally articulates its own views instead of chasing stereotypical conceptions, that’s more humane and real. Sanjay, as an impatient child of Indira had impacted negatively on Indian democracy…he grabbed the forefront of power with mother’s emotional breakdown in 1970’s. That was the result of her high shot intervention in international affairs, particularly in the birth of Bangladesh besides the fading strength of Congress in States. Rise of Communism and growing caliber of Socialist forces were other reasons that made her passed the baton informally in hand of Sanjay, who kept bad habits of less listening and reading even after that.

Finally with emergency, Congress shown an arbitrariness in political functioning that tolled it heavy losses, except South India
[South of Vindhya}, its position never remained so stable again. Premature death of Sanjay and conditional arrival of Rajiv shaped the further course of Congress…but in the meantime, Indira’s assassination followed by the avoidable communal clashes and bawdy display of personification from tier-II and tier-III leaders bought some murmur of leadership change but lasted soon. The bad personal maneuvering Pranab Mukherji was shunted under the charge of command that lost prominence he could retrieve only in 1991, after the Rajiv’s sad death. He displayed this time proper loyalty in favour of Sonia, and still doing so with greater say in party and government led by the Congress party.

Rasheed has succeeded to establish a broader outline, how Congress party has been moving over the years through many formative and deformative stages. He also did beautifully overtures with the internal nuances of Congress organisation, especially the detailed classification of party affiliates are worth of reckoning and besides also knowing how good or bad democracy exists within India’s largest political party. I will reprise again here, that historical narration is the best thing with this book, although a big missing has also emerges from the same section. In entire book, there is no mention of Congress high profile leader from Bihar, Lalit Narayan Mishra who spearheaded the party organisation in eastern/northern India besides also playing formidable role in establishing smooth rapport with Communist bloc during the Cold War era. Ambiguity of his death while serving as most effective Railway Minister should have also been taken into account as he remained unparalleled leader of Bihar after Shree Krishna Singh.

Name of his younger brother, Jagganath Mishra was among the five probables after the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, but here too, there is no mention of that. Till then, Congress started catching decline in Bihar…defeat of Jagganath Mishra by the legendary Communist leader, Bhogendra Jha by substantial margin in 1991 Loksabha election from Madhubani marked the end of Congress party as functional power in Bihar. Anyway, Dr. Mishra continued as Rajya Sabha member with a plush Ministry of Rural Development, but his adventurous decision to lobby against Sonia Gandhi knocked him permanently irrelevant in Congress politics. Though two other dissent lobbyists, P.A.Sangama and Sharad Pawar is enjoying best time in power circle of UPA government. Lastly this book must be stacked in bookshelf of every serious readers with penchant for understanding Indian politics, I am sanguine about that and hoping it as starting of a new wave of political commentary.
Atul Kumar Thakur
August 26, 2011, Friday, New Delhi
Email: summertickets@gmail.com

Revival of Bihar

The economy’s spectacular growth in five years up to 2008-09 was propelled by the initiatives at the grass root level, with the traditional backward and poor states turning into miracle economies. As par new Central Statistical Organization {CSO} surveys, at 11.03 percent, growth rate of Bihar only a step behind Gujarat {11.05%} and much above the National average of 8.49%.
This revolutionary growth of Bihar at 11.03% almost seems like Chinese growth; the growth rate of Bihar assumes although more significance as it comes after a negative 5.15% growth of 2003-04. “Many old notions have been shaken up in India’s five years of miraculous growth, from 2004-05 to 2008-09, some historically laggard state have sky rocketed while one leader has plummeted {Swaminathan. S.Anklesaria .Aiyar, The Economic Times, January 6th, 2010}.

The economic miracle of Bihar became possible through increased cumulative development expenses; Rs 35,364 crore was spent in last four years which remarkably proved turnaround for the shake of Bihar.Indeed economic revival also brushed the ill impressions about the state to an extant; even deputy Chairman of Planning Commission, Mr. Montek Singh Ahulwalia who recently visited the Bihar, admitted that its economy has recorded a “desired growth” in the past three years-this is a positive indication from the broader perspective.

Erstwhile distortions of Bihar’s economic performances could be attributed to the malign rule of RJD led government which could raise and spent only Rs.25,000 crore in their havocking fifteen years long rule-what one can expect in such dismal investments except loosing one by one, the all glories of Bihar that it has been availing since the time immemorial.
Now in changed circumstances entire world started to see the Bihar through noble impressions-“as on last July, the World Bank had ranked Bihar 14th ahead of Chennai, Kochi and Kolkata-for being the “easiest place to start business” in India in its report “Doing Business in India 2009”, the report presents indicators on business regulations, compared across 181 economies {Santosh Singh, The Indian Express, January 4th 2010}.

It’s a explicit truth that once a country grows swiftly; increased government revenues can be better infused in social sectors and various welfare programmes-plans like NREGS, Bharat Nirman, Sarva Siksha Abhiyan, the farm loan waiving and enormous oil subsidies becomes practically possible through the same growing volume of economies albeit rapid growth has been substantially inclusive, but not entirely, so much more is required public delivery at the bottom level.
After all states have larger role allocation to conquer the actual theme of development rather than attaining merely the sophisticated statistical progression-Chief Minister and architect of Bihar’s growth, Nitish Kumar has to deliberate cautiously in this regard as most of actual works have yet to be complete.

No doubt, this man behind the turnaround story of Bihar is today counting as most precious political species from the state…he has deep commitment for his assignments which he demonstrated in his long decades of political career without ever co-inciding without any grave charges. In his present stint as Chief Minister, he performed very well-he tried to touch every emptied spaces that had requires immediate make over, from education, health, services, infrastructure etc to filling of lakhs of vacancies in state departments are very remarkable.
He has shown keen interests in social plans and most pertinent, effectively used the center’s fund though obviously political mismatch with the center restraining him from making some more advanced approaches-like last twenty years, Congress led UPA government in the centre remains very passive towards any extra packages for Bihar.

Infact Nitish Kumar has to still confront with these realities although states credit has improved over years and he’s also making shack hands with big dads of business like, Mukesh Ambani, Keshab Mahindra etc before receiving the crucial Economic Times Awards; so he should look forward now to fetch private investments inside the state as the new Bihar would provide them an extra-ordinary mix of abundant finest human and natural resources.
He has got command over the law and order situation in state by de-glamorizing the crime profession-most of the famed criminals are already dwelling in various jails; only he have to stop promoting some criminals within the rank of MLA. The second thing that’s sole drawback in his illustrious personality is his unreasonable relying on caste equations-now at least it’s not matching his stature after his huge acceptance from all the classes and castes.
For forwarding Bihar to top on the list, hope he would stop being the supporter of any caste assertions or its manipulation in the politics…after all he is the man of change, so he’s the first choice.
Atul Kumar Thakur
January 27th 2010, New Delhi
atul_mdb@rediffmail.com

Imbroglio of Nepalese Politics

A beautiful land that once known for its peaceful existence and celebrative lifestyle, now stands against these qualities. Nepal’s integrity which symbolizes with its foundation by king Prithvi Narayan Shah in eighteenth century, now caught in alarming state as Communist Party of Nepal {Maoist} are chasing this target to overthrow by forcibly imposing the establishment of ethnic states inside the country.
Power hungry Maoists have nothing to do with the historical truth as they believed those entire realities as “Military victory” and nothing apart from that-astonishingly such process was started by the Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala in 2006 when he stopped the “unity day” on eve of King Prithvi Narayan Shah’s birth anniversary-such tempering with the symbol of icons are sheer awful and deserves to be condemn.

Since the broke out of civil war in 1996 by the Maoists against the monarchy to the present date, Maoists and other pseudo progressive players have added nothing except some more misfortune to their country which overall deteriorates the impression of Nepal for outside world.
For the time being, Nepal’s peace process is in fragile state and its possible inability to execute the new constitution before the May 28th, 2010 deadline would bring country’s democratic legitimacy into questions and further may keep haunt the changes that the 2006 mass movement brought about.

Indeed chances of fundamental shifts look hard to institutionalize in present political chaos generated by the Maoists; lust for power grew so much in Maoist camp that even intra-party feud reached to top political order-Baburam Bhattarai, the ideologue and chief architect of Maoism in Nepal now viewing as an Indian agent only because he often talks of party’s participation with the other democratic forces in near future that pushing Prachanda into insecure cognition and now even he forgetting the role Baburam Bhattarai has played since inception of civil war in country.
All these adverse developments in political circle making a section of Nepali intelligentsia believes that involving Nepali people in fundamental shifts-from monarchy to republic, from Hindu Nepal to secularism and most importantly from unitary to federalism was a fatal; a chunk among them also started blaming the indulged political parties as well as India which is a blow to two-nations traditional friendly fabrics.

China has sensed this opportunity and started enlarging terms of engagements with the crisis ridden Nepal; signed a Peace and Friendship Treaty similar to one Nepal has with India and reviewing its earlier stands like recognizing India has primacy of interest in Nepal.The huge investments in Nepal also marks China’s policy extension to engage India in similar line, like of Kashmir issue-besides their own ambition to be a key actor in the international initiative in Nepalese peace process, probably to counter its chief architect-non other than India.
This is not without reason from Chinese side as they considering on an unexplored Nepal which possess enormous water resources as potential power hoe; in deed in both economic and strategic terms it would be win-win situation for China which India could not explore properly in long sixty years. Definitely it’s a cause of concern because such materialization would be encroach India’s traditional role in this republic albeit China is also not looking completely lucid in their framework.

At one side where they using Maoists as their natural ally but on the other they offering financial packages for developmental activities and noticeably for the modernization of Nepalese Army-even more Chinese authorities are in no mood to dissociate them from the present government in Nepal, they recently convened a Prime Ministerial level meetings in Beijing beside also officially invited Nepalese president Rambaran Yadav to visit China. So, such stand is sufficed for showing the China’s feeble sincerity in ongoing peace process-they are using Nepal as resource hub and political parties especially Maoists as commodity, nothing more than that.

For constructive advancement of peace process in Nepal, some corrective measures are immediately needed from China side-obviously the first would be to cease from fueling Maoists for anti-Indian stances because that unnecessarily hyping their negative spirits which jeopardizing the entire peace process. Pragmatically China must consider on broader terms with India which these two giant nations has developed in last two decades; mutual trust they have achieved meanwhile through their diplomatic and trade engagements should not allow them to throw in vain.

Peaceful presence of this Himalayan republic amidst the two superpower would be an advantageous proposition for the entire south Asian region-hope that political parties would understand the gravity of matters now and strive to recover Nepal from falling order, because their own efforts and understanding rather than glamorous external intervention would play catalyst role in nation building. Eventually, Maoists should revisit their political ideology as presently it hardly in replication with the parent ideology…ethnicity could never be a strong driving force for a radical left party, any further proceedings in this regard going to be very injurious to their future prospects.
Atul Kumar Thakur
January 27th 2010, New Delhi
atul_mdb@rediffmail.com

Flaws of Statehood Policy

Abrupt and politically motivated proclamation of separate Telangana state by the union government utterly felt shocking to most of us who have different takes on statehood policies, sharply distinct from exasperating greed backed hungry demonstration by the Telangana Rajya Samiti (TRS) chief K.Chandrashekhar.Rao (KCR) who foreseen a very crucial role in potential formation before splitting from Congress and later Telgu Desam Party after availing considerable stints in their rules.
Way back to Potti Sriramalu who had evangelize the statehood of Andhra Pradesh and later caused for the State Reorganization Committee (SRC, 1956) headed by Justice Fazal Ali to recent stirrings by KCR, they all used fast as a catalyst along with the linguistic and ethnic considerations to forward their demand of statehoods; alas! If the government in centre has Shawn similar sensitivity with the Irom Sharmila in Manipur who have been for years fasting for removal of the Arms Forces Special Power Act (AFSPA) in state, she now remains a skeletal with her genuine demand.

The two represents the opposites ends of realities –human lives could have face the juxtaposed treatment in our democracy since they represent the unequal political patronage and indeed our political system still is not so much dynamic to anticipate the voices of civil society on pro-rata basis. In present case, the government had conceded the demand of separate Telangana without thinking the future consequences; decisions on redrawing state boundaries needs close reviewing and meticulous expatiation of the pros and cons, essentially such plan must be driven by logic and actual data, not emotion.
Initial categorization and subsequent formation of states on linguistic grounds were completely irrational since such maneuverings were entrusted with divisive factors since its inception as Nehru feared during the formation of Andhra state in 1956 and termed it as a marriage of unequal partnership with provisions of separation, similar to what we are witnessing today…at least now any statehood maneuvering should be opted primarily to take on the considerations of developmental issues unlike the politically inflated ethnic and linguistic issues.

Some causes of unsystematic state planning in early years after the independence could be attributed to the princely states and fore mostly to the British system of governance that was unduly centralized due to major considerations of substantial land revenue than any other visible factors albeit later improper developments were the outcomes of political sea-change.

State Reorganization Committee (SRC, 1956) recommended the formation of sixteen states and three centrally administered territories-the government however opted for fourteen states and six union territories because of apprehensions regarding their sustainability. Although presently, numbers of states have reached to twenty eight; we can’t refute the performances of new smaller states-from newly created north eastern states, Himachal Pradesh, Hariyana to Uttaranchal, Chhatisgarh etc ,they all have performed better except the Jharkhand whose fortunes damaged with political mal-functioning and many other counts has even more deteriorated after its separation from Bihar.

Core data suggests that, in general, smaller states have performed better after their own existence on physical and social infrastructure, law and order, administrative convenience, redressal of pertinent local issues, lesser heterogeneity etc. With improved economic and social indices if new states could enhance the transparency and accountability in governance than there is strong case for partial decentralization of other services except the matters of defense, national security and external affairs.
Decentralization is essential in present political framework and that must be headed by the second SRC to devise optimal number of states by appropriating rational benchmark in terms of good governance and better participation to redress the local developmental issues. An exposure of twenty five to forty five millions population and geographical coverage of thirty five thousand square kilometer would be an optimum situation although it should not seen as a deadline since diversity of conditions have to be interfaced with them.

Concept of smaller states In India are far from being a bandwagon of western experiments in this regard, who have been availing much distinct devolution from ours; neither our case is alike with China , where the process of decentralization was started even before 1978-79 reforms. However what they all makes sense that in most of matters devolution of power work to reach the benefits of growth to the bottom of pyramids besides eradicating all sorts of alienation that often caused for unrests; what exactly needed today to properly plan the viability of statehood with sole agenda of development in mind and stop appeasing the claims on the basis of extremes-like fast unto death, gathering of millions, damaging properties etc.
A clear intended plan with well judged implementation is suffice to change the internal boundaries of country and rest of energies must be merged with such plan to dwell further on successes.

Atul Kumar Thakur
December 30th 2009, New Delhi
atul_mdb@rediffmail.com