AAJ KEE DUNIYA

Prashant Kishor 2.0: A promising start in Bihar

2024-04-07T11:12:00.000-07:00

With Bihar continuing to lag behind and stay at the bottom of development/socio-economic ladder despite two long decades of Sushasan Babu; with political decline of Lalu/Nitish and both unable to rise above identity/caste based politics; and with Bihar BJP not being able to throw a credible face over all these years, there has certainly been a growing vacant space for a political discourse which is democratised, identity-agnostic, bottom-up, aspirational, issue-based, solution oriented, people-centric, development-oriented and accountability driven.

For effecting a decisive shift towards such a political discourse in Bihar, the required socio-political awakening never reached a critical mass there. Also, a credible State level change agent or a political face without an identity baggage - someone who could rally Biharis out of their prevailing parochial caste-ridden mindset and who could show them the vision - as to why & how their future could possibly be better and in sync with these times, could never rise from within to the challenge.

As such, walking the talk and sticking to the process & the method - how to get people out of current morass without being "more of the same" kind, and how to be different and yet not be out of place, was never an easy task by any standards. Waking up a giant from deep slumber had to be a daunting challenge. Some of the imperatives in this regard were: the disadvantaged voices on the ground had to be heard, the issues of common man had to be understood & recognised, the weak & ignorant needed to be handheld, the caste & religious identity differences had to be blurred, the burning socio-economic issues needed to be spoken loud & clear, the accountability for present ills required to be fixed & underlined, bottom-up solutions to impending localised & common problems needed to be highlighted, and so on & so forth. In other words, the field needed to be painstakingly nurtured and prepared well before the harness.

With his homework done well enough, PK has rightly sensed all of the above and has come prepared to explore & prepare the turf in his own data driven way. What could be more apt than his choice of leveraging the time-tested & potent Gandhian approach towards ushering in change. PK understands the fact well that Mahatma still remains so relevant today and could be handsomely leveraged. Remember JanSuraj Abhiyan commenced its journey from Mahatma's Champaran.

Patiently traversing across each and every block & district of Bihar, spending time with people in both urban areas & in hinterlands, listening to people's woes, getting to know & understand their localised & common issues up close, having a dialogue and communicating with people in their own language & accent, giving hope & confidence to the beleagured masses, presenting himself as a son of the soil and as the man next door, putting forth a new strategic vision and urging people to join in, PK's JanSuraj endeavour appears to have started reasonably well.

For a person of his background who had spent most of his time outside Bihar, ushering in a new vision for Bihar and a churn towards a breakthrough in Bihar politics, required this patient slow participative but very effective & time-tested padyatra outreach across the length & breadth of State.

So far PK has made the right moves - right process & right approach, and if he continues on the same path with same patience & diligence, he would get people to buy into his vision for a new Bihar. Once his efforts hit a critical mass, the new discourse in Bihar may take a geometric progression towards some big formative change.

With the promise shown thus far, PK can be that agent of change for year 2025 that zillions in Bihar are yearning and hoping for. Who knows! It is anybody's guess today. Already some have started seeing a political future with him and are already lining up to him. Where and what PK's JanSuraj Abhiyan would lead upto, no one can predict today. As of now, all one can say is that PK's second innings has had a reasonable start. Only time will tell if PK successfully rises upto the challenge and is able to fulfill the promise.

p.s. In his interviews, PK shares that his JanSuraj Abhiyan is being financed out of the social capital that he has earned over the last ten years. He informs that his "friends" from different walks of life, across the nation, are financing his endeavours in Bihar. But no one yet knows who are these "friends" of his. He also claims to receive these friendly contributions to JanSuraj Abhiyan, by cheque. This means that the Government of the day knows well who all are financing him. However, the people of Bihar who PK intends to lead in future, don't yet know who are paying the JanSuraj bills.

Standard of ethics & morality dictate that PK makes sources of JanSuraj funds public, without any delay. If he has to play above board and has to live up to his promise, then he must strive to be as transparent & accountable, as he could. As they say, seeing or perceiving is believing. BJP's B team tag must be effectively dispelled by PK & his team, sooner than later.

Uniform Civil Code or Common Civil Code - A Pause of Prudence, Pragmatism, Practicality & Preparation seems imperative

2023-07-26T12:06:00.192-07:00

The Indian Constitution desires and aims for a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) for its citizens. Harmony, unity, uniformity, equal treatment of everyone before law, equal penalty or punishment for everybody (irrespective of religion, caste, creed or sex), secular law in a secular nation, gender equality, justice for all, etc are certainly noble objectives that could be pursued through a Uniform Civil Code (UCC). For instance, pursuit of universality in the rights of daughters & sons in property inheritance, commonality in the duties of sons & daughters towards parents, common grounds for adoption & divorce across communities and religions, rights of partners in live-in relationships and of their children, legalisation of marriage & succession rights in LGBTQ community, reform and commonality in practices amongst Scheduled Tribes, banning of regressive & unjust social practices such as polygamy & polyandry across communities, commonality in the maintenance rights of women after divorce across communities & regions, etc. are some of the relevant but complex goals to attain in this space.

Guided by constitutional values of equality, liberty and dignity of the individual, the pursuit of aforementioned objectives and other commonalities in personal laws of marriage, divorce, inheritance, succession, adoption, etc. within and/or across religions & communities would be ideal and natural goals towards a just society in a progressive and developing nation of such diversities, pluralities & potentials, like India. Whether the Uniform Civil Code (hereafter, referred to as UCC) should take the path of uniformity within the personal laws of a community or should adopt the path of commonality amongst the personal laws across communities or should follow an optimal mix of both i.e. whether the reforms be brought in within the personal laws of each community and also amongst the personal laws of different communities, are some of the relevant and tough questions that would need carefully studied and analysed answers before the arduous & complex UCC exercise is taken up.

Although the spirit and intent behind “One Nation One Law” in a vibrant Constitutional democracy like India is worth appreciating, the task has never been easy due to the difficulties & complexities involved. Back in those days, the Constituent Assembly, comprehending the benefits along with the complexities attached to this idea, had vigorously debated the subject of UCC at length. The founding fathers, after strong arguments and much deliberations, ultimately decided not to go ahead with uniform personal law as a justifiable right in wake of severe opposition from the Muslim members. The then socio-economic and political conditions in the country were also not in favour of such a social reform.

In fact, KM Munshi, the then member of the Constituent Assembly and also of the Drafting Committee of the Constitution of India (hereafter, called as Constitution) which was headed by Dr.BR Ambedkar, had strongly argued for personal laws to be divorced from religion. Questioning the linkage between personal laws and religion, Munshi had argued that Muslims need to come out of their isolationist attitude and should strongly support a UCC. He had also referred to the Hindu personal laws which, at that time, were discriminatory to women. Even Ambedkar’s Draft report had strongly argued for a UCC.

In early 1950s, Ambedkar publicly argued for a UCC citing that India already had common/uniform civil code in many aspects of human relationships - like transfer of property, contracts, etc besides a uniform and complete Criminal Code – Indian Penal Code (IPC) & Criminal Procedure Code (Cr PC). So why not include personal laws as well. However, he later modified his stand and conceded that UCC could be made voluntary, to start with. The Muslim members of the Constituent Assembly argued that Muslim Personal Laws were rooted in the Quran, and that Muslims were mandated to follow personal laws as enshrined in Quran and not as per any other law book. They asserted that personal laws were part and parcel of their religion & culture for ages, and their right to personal laws was a fundamental right.

The Muslim members of Constituent Assembly also argued that UCC in matters of marriage, divorce, succession and inheritance would be tyrannical to minority rights. Given such strong opposition, the Committee decided not to put personal laws under fundamental rights per se, but provided for their protection under various other related provisions and chose to put UCC under a “non-justiciable” Constitutional provision i.e. under the Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP) which are not enforceable by any court of law.

Later, Nehru also conceded to this opposition on the issue of UCC and hence, UCC, as a future desired goal for the nation, found a place under the Directive Principles which were supposed to be the guiding & fundamental principles of governance. Under the then Article 35 and now Article 44 of the Constitution, the founders finally left it upon the State to endeavour and to apply these principles in making laws towards securing UCC throughout the territory of India and to bring that desired change for its citizens, in the future.

Since the early '50s, varying degrees of socio-economic and political conditions – illiteracy, ignorance, poverty, climate of hate & divisiveness (in the backdrop of partition), religious & sectarian differences, traditions, cultural practices, regional differences, practical constraints of implementation, absence of political consensus and unfavourable public mood have never allowed Parliament and successive Union governments to venture out towards a UCC. Even the Hindu Code Bill faced some serious resistance from conservatives, reactionaries and from some key organisations in the 1950s.

Interestingly, codification process of the Hindu Personal Laws had started way back in 1941 with Hindu Law Committee coming into existence. Since the passing of Hindu Marriage Act in 1955, critical reforms in Hindu Personal Laws have been made – initially by codification and later by means of amendments until as recent as in 2013 - on daughters’ inheritance, divorce, dissolution of marriage, children, compensation, etc. And, it was not until the year 2005 Amendment in Hindu Succession Act, 1956 that daughters were allowed equal rights to coparcenary property as sons and that, women could also legally be the 'karta' of Hindu Undivided Family (HUF).

Thus, even after long years of codification, the Hindu Code has continued to being amended on a time to time basis and the reasons are understandable. The dynamic & complex nature of evolution and progress in society with time, the constant need to remove pernicious and discriminatory practices that had set in, the need to usher in equality and justice for all - in accordance with constitutional provisions and values (of liberty, life, equality, freedom, justice, non-discrimination and human dignity) in matters of personal laws, the critical need to harmonise differences in practices within the Hindu community - all of which, called for the nation to respond to these tough questions and challenges, as and when it was possible to do so, in order to march forward as a progressive and just society.

However, these reforms in Hindu personal laws have never been free from serious difficulties and grave challenges. Roadblocks of varying degrees of difficulties have continued to rock these reforms, right since 1950s. Arguably, resistance to change in matters of faith and age-old customs & practices, existence of divisions within the community on various lines, regional differences in customs & traditions, varying tribal practices, changing and evolving face of the society with time, etc would have all led to such contentions and difficulties towards codification of Hindu Personal Laws and its subsequent amendments.

Similar challenges to reforms have also arisen in matters of Christian Personal Laws over these years. Hence, forging consensus and effecting uniformity within the personal laws of communities have always been complex, contested, arduous and long drawn out processes – always ridden with contradictions, conflicts and competing contentions from within. No wonder, an endeavour to forge similar uniformity by means of UCC across communities & regions, now, would amount to a humongous social and political challenge along with proportionate level of social disruption ridden with risks. For that matter, even codifying Muslim Personal Laws is not going to be an easy task (as some of us think). Perhaps, it will be an equally complex and difficult process, if not more.

With the existing clear-cut, sharp divisions on Shia-Sunni lines, differences between further sub-sects and schools of theological thoughts among both the Shias and the Sunnis like Ithna Asharia, Ismailia, Hanafi, Maliki, Hanbali, Shaafei, etc – along with the fact that each of these schools has its own set of jurisprudence, forging some kind of a consensus amongst these sects, could be very difficult and complex exercise. It is only a matter of speculation if various traditions and sects within the Muslim community will be ready to come on a common platform and accept secular laws or accept laws of one sect over the other (both within the community and of other communities). Therefore, this is a no-brainer that any such effort of forging uniformity in Muslim Personal Laws would be a hugely complex socio-political challenge on the ground.

Coming back to the present, firstly, there isn’t yet any credible Draft worth its salt on UCC, available anywhere to discuss or debate about. No one knows the contents of a representation (called Progressive Uniform Civil Code) on UCC that was earlier made to the 21st Law Commission by a group of eight individuals. It is yet not known how credible was that Draft as the Commission never recognised or endorsed its existence and credibility. Interestingly, 21st Law Commission - headed by a former Supreme Court Judge BS Chauhan did examine the UCC subject in detail over the period 2016-18. It did also solicit views & ideas from various stakeholders across the country to comprehend and to explore the feasibility and desirability of UCC.

Finally, in the year 2018, the same Law Commission came up with its Consultation paper titled “Reforms of Family Law” wherein, it concluded that the “formulation of a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) is neither necessary nor desirable at this stage”. The Commission in this Report held that “mere existence of differences does not imply discrimination, but is indicative of a robust democracy”. It further highlighted that most countries are moving towards the recognition of differences in place of legal provisions that are founded on uniformity between culturally diverse people - as these are unfair to the weaker and vulnerable sections of the society. Law Commission in the same Consultation paper underlined that rather than enacting a UCC, family laws of every religion must be reformed to make them gender-just. It spoke about the uniformity of rights, and not of laws. The Commission’s Consultation paper further emphasised that celebration of diversity must not disadvantage specific groups and “women must be guaranteed their freedom of faith without any compromise on their right to equality”.

The Consultation paper, then proceeded to recommend a series of reforms in the personal laws of all religions as well as in the secular laws which place women and children, at a disadvantage. However, since August, 2018 nothing much has been done by the Union government in regards to those recommendations of 21st Law Commission. Recent media reports, however, suggest that a Committee - set up by the government of Uttarakhand (a small State of about 1.3 crore people) under a former Supreme Court Judge Ranjana Desai, has examined the UCC issue specifically for the State and after long consultations with stakeholders in Uttarakhand, is in the process of producing a UCC Draft - specifically meant for the State. However, the reported Draft is yet to see the light of the day.

Given the AS-IS situation wherein Uttarakhand and a few other States have announced their intent to frame UCC for their respective States, it becomes imperative to briefly look at some of the related aspects – specifically with respect to UCC as enshrined under Article 44 of Constitution, in order to have a reasonable understanding of this constitutional goal and of the jurisdiction, thereunder. Firstly, does the word “State” under Article 44 also include within its meaning, the jurisdiction of individual States (along with arms & instruments of those individual States) towards legislating & endeavouring towards their own specific set of UCC in their States. Are individual State governments/legislatures (and their arms & instruments) - as understood within the meaning of “State” under Article 12 of the Constitution, are also to be understood and included within the meaning of “State” enshrined under Article 44 of Constitution.

In other words, does the Constitution put the onus of achieving uniformity in personal laws (UCC) as enshrined under Article 44 (Directive Principles) on the legislature and executive of both the Union & individual States. Does the Constitution through Article 44, provide for each individual State to also be aiming for uniformity in its own specific personal laws i.e. legislating and implementing State specific UCCs within the boundaries of the individual States. Is the goal of achieving “uniformity in personal laws” through UCC legislation and implementation, as enshrined under Article 44, a desired future goal for the individual States as well or is it just the mandate for Parliament and Union government - which have jurisdiction over the whole territory of India

Hence, is the “State” as enshrined under Article 44 equal to or same as the “State” enshrined under Article 12 of the Constitution. The “State” under Article 12 encompasses not only the Union and State legislatures & their governments but also all other executive arms & instruments of the State - including all local & other authorities existing/operating within the territory of India or under the Union/State executive control. In other words, the canvas or scope of “State” under Article 12 is much wider and more expansive - as compared to the limited “State” under Article 44 of the Constitution.

Moreover, does the Constitution, through the meaning under Article 44, expect the individual States (besides the Parliament/Union Government) to be legislating and endeavouring on UCC over “the whole territory of India” - besides their own States. Interestingly, individual States do not have any authority or jurisdiction, under the Constitution, to legislate on any subject for other States or to implement their State laws, beyond the territorial boundaries of their own States.

Also, do the two phrases - “State shall endeavour” and “throughout territory of India” - as enshrined under Article 44 of Constitution, have to be read together and in conjunction with each other or can both the phrases be read separately in relation to the UCC, as a goal for the “State” under Article 44. If both the phrases have to be read and understood together in conjunction with each other, then, clearly the founding fathers were aiming for the Parliament & the Union government (and not the individual States) to be endeavouring for UCC, across the length & breadth of the country. If at all, the two aforementioned phrases under Article 44 can be read separately and by themselves, then, the meaning of “State” under Article 44 may perhaps include the individual States as well. But then, can Article 44 be broken into parts and then, be read & understood separately or are these two phrases in Article 44 intertwined, have to be read together and are to be understood in a conjoined manner. It may be pertinent here to mention here that specific subjects, wherein, the Constitutional objective is to address a national need or to achieve uniformity of laws and in their applicability throughout the territory of India, are included only in the Union List (List I of the Constitution) and those laws/rules & regulations can only be enacted by the Parliament & the Union government and not by the State Legislatures or State Governments.

Subjects wherein, local efforts by the individual States are to be promoted, or diversity and specificity of the needs of individual States are to be recognised and where such diversities are to be protected, or where legislation by individual States is often desirable are included under the Concurrent List (List III of the Constitution). This allows the individual States to not only address their specific needs, traditions & practices/customs but also to legislate on their State specific laws. Moreover, subjects wherein, it is equally necessary for the Union to have legislative jurisdiction so as to secure uniformity of principles of law, are also included under the List III of Constitution. Those Subjects where enactments by individual States could amount to a mischief which extend to or may extend to beyond the boundaries of the individual State/s, are also included under the Concurrent list - thereby allowing the Union to take corrective measures and effect remedies.

The individual States, however, do not have any legislative jurisdiction or competency beyond their territorial boundaries, on the subjects under either State List (List II) or under Concurrent List (List III) of the Constitution. All matters or issues or subjects of governance & policy that require uniformity of applicability throughout the territory of the country, are anyways included in the Union list (List I) of the Constitution, wherein, no individual State has any jurisdiction or competency to legislate. It is only the Parliament, the Union government and its arms/instruments which have the jurisdiction to legislate or frame rules & regulations, over the Union List subjects for the “whole of territory of India”. Wherever there is a conflict between Central and State laws on any particular subject under List III, it is the Central Law which prevails over the State law. The residuary powers of legislation in this quasi-federal set up, rest with the Union, anyways.

Therefore, the Concurrent List is primarily meant to promote legislation by individual States catering to their State specific needs and, on occasions, to permit non-conflicting variations of Central laws in order to address the local needs. For instance, uniform laws in personal law space, applicable throughout the territory of India e.g. codified laws – Hindu Marriage Act, Hindu Adoption & Maintenance Act, Hindu Succession Act, or the Special Marriage Act, etc were enacted by Parliament and not by any of the individual States. However, personal law being a Concurrent List subject (under entry 5), further enactments on individual State specific customary practice or age-old tradition or a requirement - which needed recognition and legislation, were carried out by State legislatures, as well. In post-independent India, several such State specific laws catering to local needs were enacted by individual State legislatures over the past seventy five years e.g. TN Hindu Marriage Amendment Act, Punjab Anand Marriage Act, Punjab Marriage Restraint Act, TN Marriage Registration Act, Andhra Pradesh Compulsory Marriage Registration Act, etc.

It may be worthwhile to reiterate that personal laws are included under entry 5 of the Concurrent list of Constitution - allowing for the individual States (besides Parliament/Union government) also to make their own laws/rules & regulations on matters of - marriage, divorce, succession, adoption, etc, specific to their States, on as and when required basis. Individual States, across the country, have various diversities and complexities in terms of their personal laws, customs, traditions & practices and requirements, which are specific to their States. At the cost of repetition, it may be underlined here that by virtue of inclusion of personal laws under entry 5 of the Concurrent List, the Constitutional objective has clearly been to recognise the diversity (cultural customs, usage & practices) which exists within the individual States and to enable the individual States to protect that diversity. However, does this mean that individual States, by virtue of personal laws inclusion in entry 5 under List III, can automatically extend their authority to achieve uniformity in their State specific personal laws and can disregard the constitutional goal of protecting diversity in there. Does this not, amount to going against or acting contrary to the Constitutional objectives of keeping personal laws under the Concurrent list and to the goals of Article 44.

If the objective of the Constitution was also to expect the individual States to be endeavouring towards UCC in their States, then, wouldn’t the inclusion of personal laws under entry 5 in the Concurrent list become totally contrary to such an objective and thus be redundant. For arguments sake, had the Constitution mandated individual States to be endeavouring towards uniformity in their personal laws and towards UCC in their States - by means of entry 5 of Concurrent list, then, many States may well have already attempted it by now. But then, why would they have endeavoured to do that in the first place. It didn’t make sense for them - given the age-old cultural diversities in matters of personal laws, customs & practices, etc. and dearly held by the people in those States. Naturally, there was a need amongst the people to protect those customs & traditions, especially in the Tribal inhabited areas. This diversity in social & religious practices, customary laws & traditions, etc. and the need to protect the same is clearly recognised under the Constitution vide its various provisions.

The Sixth Schedule of Constitution and subsequent judicial pronouncements provide for an exclusive autonomy to the tribal people over law making and administration of certain tribal areas in the North Eastern States of Assam (North Cachar, Karbi-Anglong, Bodoland Territorial Area), Tripura (Tripura Tribal Areas), Mizoram (Chakma District, Mara District, Lai District) and Meghalaya (Garo Hills District, Khasi Hills District, Jaintia Hills District). The jurisdiction & authority of those Tribal District & Regional Councils to make their own laws and to administer themselves include the subjects of succession & inheritance, marriage & divorce, social customs, transfer of land ownership, etc. This special arrangement of autonomous self-government in North East Tribal areas under the Sixth Schedule of Constitution is essentially to recognise the fact that the tribals in aforementioned areas of these four North-Eastern States are deeply rooted in their age-old customs, culture & civilisation and the Constitution aims to protect this diversity.

Apart from the aforementioned special arrangement of autonomous Tribal Administrative bodies under the Sixth Schedule, additional provisions of the Constitution provide for protection of some of other State specific tribal traditions, customary law & procedure, religious & social practices, etc. in personal law domain and at times, extending to criminal law (in a few cases) as well e.g. Article 371A, Article 371 G, etc. Under these provisions, no Act of Parliament in personal law space applies to those States unless the State legislature passes a resolution to that effect. For instance Article 371-A applies to State of Nagaland, Article 371-G applies to State of Mizoram and so on and so forth. Therefore, there was no need to protect such diversity in Tribal areas by means of these aforementioned provisions if the individual States were constitutionally mandated to achieve uniformity in their State specific customary laws & traditions. If at all, achieving uniformity in personal laws by the individual States was an imperative for the founding fathers and if it was a Constitutional mandate, then, personal laws may well have been made part of only the State List (List II) and the Parliament/Union government wouldn’t have got the powers to legislate on such matters. In such a scenario, Article 44 may well have not found out a place under the Directive Principles of State Policy which are, by the way, guiding principles of governance throughout the territory of India. However, Article 44 actually did and did rightly so, in the context of need, time & space.

Clearly, UCC under Article 44 is a future goal for the “State” to strive for and to endeavour upon towards its implementation - throughout the territory of India. Hence, it may be reiterated that UCC is a goal for the nation and NOT for the individual States to endeavour upon - on their own or by themselves. The word “State” under Article 44 clearly mandates only those arms/instruments of the “State” (of Article 12) which have jurisdiction to legislate & implement laws throughout the territory of India. Individual States do not have the legislative or executive jurisdiction beyond the boundaries of their respective States. Article 44 read in conjunction with Article 12 along with entry 5 of Concurrent List, clearly leads to a studied conclusion that the Constitution aims for the Parliament, the Central government and its arms/instruments which have nationwide jurisdiction (in matters of both legislation and implementation of laws, rules & regulations ), to endeavour and to strive upon for UCC.

It is therefore abundantly clear that individual States have territorial and legislative limitations as far as their jurisdiction with respect to UCC and its implementation throughout the nation, is concerned. At the risk of repetition, it can be safely reiterated here that the constitutional duty of recognition & protection of diversity in personal laws within individual States is assigned to both - the individual States as well as to the Parliament/Union government - by means of entry 5 of Concurrent list, while the constitutional duty to endeavour towards uniformity and to implement UCC throughout the territory of India, is mandated only upon the Parliament and on the Union government & its arms/instruments, by means of Article 44 (under the Directive Principles of State Policy).

Another relevant constitutional aspect of UCC that needs to be dealt with is whether the Constitution mandates UCC as Uniform Civil Code (by exploring uniformity) or does it mean a Common Civil Code (by exploring commonality). Does the Constitution strive for “reform through uniformity” between personal laws of different religions & communities through UCC or does it aim for “reform through commonalities” within the personal laws of each community through UCC or does the Constitution mandate the “State” in Article 44 to explore an optimal and pragmatic mix of both uniformity and commonality for UCC. Reforms through Uniformity, between the diverse personal laws of each community, for obvious reasons, shall always be a tougher, more contentious & more complex exercise compared to finding common grounds & commonalities within the diverse personal laws of each community. Thus, there are many such tough questions and key considerations on this highly contentious and vexed issue, to be dealt with. The 22nd Law Commission and the Union government, if seized of the UCC matter, would certainly be required to comprehend the complexity, gravity and scale of the task and to be cognisant of the need to patiently apply their minds before taking a call and initiating a nationwide public discourse on UCC which could be a precursor to a possible Draft of UCC for the whole nation.

At the moment, there isn’t any credible UCC Draft in the public domain. However, if at all. there exists any, then it will be interesting to find out how the uniform code (UCC) would treat existing personal laws of communities and of sects, within & across the communities and across the regions. Second, it is yet not clear whether, for instance, existing secular laws like Special Marriage Act or Indian Succession Act will be reinforced and broadened; or some new secular common law would be brought into effect replacing the existing personal laws; or contents of personal laws of one or the other community would be made to prevail over the others.

Also, it is yet not clear how a UCC will treat the existing mandatory requirement of performance of holy “saptpadi” ceremony (recognised in Section 7 of the Hindu Marriage Act) in which seven steps taken by a bridegroom and bride before Agni to complete a valid marriage between two Hindu parties; Or, how a UCC would treat customary marriage practices in our Scheduled Tribes like Santhals, Nagas, Mundas, Kurumas, etc.; Or how UCC will deal with the performances of other ceremonies that have also been held to be valid form of marriages per Sec. 7A of Hindu Marriage Act (amendment brought about by Tamil Nadu Amendment Act 1967). In such cases, presence of a priest is not necessary for the performance of a valid marriage. Secondly, parties can enter into a marriage in the presence of relatives or friends. And finally, marriage can be completed just by a simple ceremony requiring parties to either garland each other or to put a ring on any finger of the other or to tie a thali.

It is also unknown how a UCC will treat the essential and mandatory Quranic requirements of Nikaah and Mehr for a valid marriage between two Muslim parties or how it will deal with various Quranic methods of Talaq for valid dissolution of marriage between two Muslim parties. Questions will also arise as to how a common civil code will deal with the other essential requirements for a valid Hindu marriage like degrees of prohibited relationships, prohibition under sapinda (cousin marriage), etc.

It will also be interesting to find out as to how a UCC will reconcile varying ceremonies, customs, practices and traditions in marriages from Punjab to Goa to Kerala to Tamil Nadu to North East, etc, which are otherwise considered valid in law today. Some other notable issues worth looking could be: how UCC will treat the Hindu Undivided Family or the tax benefits currently accorded to a Hindu Undivided Family (HUF) as most of the trading and business persons & their families belong to HUFs; or, how it will reconcile with the regional differences between “Dayabhaga” and “Mitakshara” schools under Hindu succession in Undivided family, i.e. in terms of the differences in who deserves to inherit, or in terms of reconciling the differences in treatment of ownership rights of coparcenary property, or in manifestation of intent in partition, or in the right of wife to demand partition, etc, or how UCC would deal with the existing differences & complexities in the treatment of inheritance by location of the individual under the four regional Mitakshara schools - Madras, Banaras, Mithila, & Bombay, and so on and so forth.

Matters, such as reconciling differences in inheritance laws between Hindus and other communities such as - 'karta' and coparcenary joint family property and absence of any such rights in other communities, or reconciling differences between Muslims and other communities in terms of right to will or of specific inheritance rules as enshrined in the Quran, are going to be absolutely contesting and tricky. With civil matters of marriage, succession, divorce being on the Concurrent List and with several States (especially in South) having enacted parallel or additional laws in these areas of social relations, reconciling differences between state laws and central laws could also pose difficulties of some degree.

Therefore, there are too many important questions to reflect upon before such a vast & complex nationwide project of UCC is embarked upon in a vibrant democratic set up with such diversity. Some of the critical and practical questions that would need immediate attention on the matter are: does it really make sense, at the moment, to replace requirements of a valid Hindu or Muslim Marriage and Succession (having their genesis in divinity, faith, culture, customs, traditions and age old practices) with a uniform or secular marriage & succession code; are the Centre & the States on the same page as far as the need to move forward on this vexed matter; is reconciling of divergence in existing central & state laws pragmatic and practical enough when powerful regional political combinations are aspiring for more and more; the moot question of whether uniform or secular law over personal laws based on religion will be easily acceptable to all sections within the major communities and across the regional divide, as that is where the key to successful implementation of any social reform of such scale and complexity would lie.

Given the fact that personal laws are matters of deep faith, founded in theology, age old customs, practices & traditions, and have an emotional and sensitive content attached to it, any effort towards a secular, uniform, personal law could also be (rightly or wrongly) perceived as encroachment, interference and intimidation by the state and could perhaps even be considered by some as imposition of one dominant personal law (as the common personal law), over all others.

Without a doubt, Uniform Civil Code (UCC) is easier said than done in a democratic and federal set-up with such diversities of faiths, theologies, tribes, personal laws, cultures, traditions, practices, history, etc. Given the existing social divisions and fissures within the major communities itself and also between the communities on various counts, and with a maze of varying personal laws existing across regions & States, the probability of effecting uniformity/commonality in personal laws, although desirable & beneficial, doesn’t appear to be encouraging at the moment. No wonder, the difficulties, challenges and risks of such an exercise make the codification process a hugely complex affair. The divisive political rhetoric and a fear of majoritarianism amongst some, may not help the cause as well. In a vibrant democratic set up that India is, there would be an underlying need to build a consensus on the subject and to carry everyone along on this matter, and which is a herculean task in itself.

There are also chances (however feeble they may be) that a top-down disruption in the present conditions may also throw the nation’s social fabric and economy into a tailspin and that will never be in nation’s overall interest. This overarching but real concern has essentially been the reason why Parliament hasn’t looked into this subject until now. Even the Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court appeared to be aware of this fact while pronouncing its judgment in the Triple Talaq case wherein, it cautiously adopted a delicate balance on the subject of whether personal laws qualify akin to statutory laws or not; whether personal laws fall under fundamental rights or not; and whether courts are qualified to adjudicate on matters of personal laws or not.

The emphatic majority view of the Apex Court's Constitutional Bench in Triple Talaq case that personal law is not statutory law but is guaranteed and protected under various provisions of the fundamental rights and that Courts are not qualified to interfere in personal laws (which many across the country may not agree), has not only made the task of moving towards a secular uniform personal law much more difficult, but has also added hurdles to any UCC passing the judicial muster, in the near future.

In its judgment on Triple Talaq, the Supreme Court articulated its position clearly and it saw no role for judiciary in adjudicating matters of personal laws. It appeared to have silently, cautiously and wisely thrown the ball into the legislature’s domain to deal with this hot-potato issue. Hence, it is now up to the legislature to apply its wisdom and assess whether it makes sense, at this juncture, to venture out into this space or not. It is also up to the Union government to evaluate cost-benefit of such a contentious move and to assess whether a pandemic ridden economy which has just started recovering back its lost ground, needs such a wide-ranging social reform to support social change.

The government needs to seriously apply its mind and examine whether people could come around to some kind of a working consensus on this sensitive subject. The government’s hands are already full with impending challenges and matters of high priorities such as – stabilising the economy following the recent shocks of a terrible pandemic and inflationary pressures; inspiring and shoring up consumer confidence; kickstarting capital investment on ground; getting economic activity back on fast track trajectory; bringing down inflation & fiscal deficit; providing business and entrepreneurship friendly environment; shoring up physical infrastructure; ushering in much needed labour market & land reforms; disinvesting shortlisted public sector banks & loss making PSUs; formulating policies and executing measures towards employment generation; getting required health infrastructure ready on time for any possible pandemic strike in future; protecting farmers' interests; expanding irrigation infrastructure; mechanisation of agricultural processes; dealing with the Chinese incursions; beefing up internal security and effectively dealing with constant threats emanating from across the borders; bringing back much needed normalcy in Manipur, etc.

Constant priorities of reducing poverty; dealing with inequality & discrimination issues; providing education for all; empowering and enabling the disadvantaged; providing basic amenities of 24X7 electricity, safe drinking water, affordable housing, basic healthcare and sanitation to all; etc. continue to remain very much on the government's radar. In the backdrop of an inefficient, corrupt, rusty, colonial-era governance under-delivering structure, all of these remain well-articulated top priority goals before Prime Minister Modi and his Cabinet for timely policy interventions, execution and delivery. Moreover, this is a general election year and there will be election specific dynamics at play as well, and which would have their own competing demands of time & resources requiring political leadership’s attention.

Therefore, given the wisdom and political maturity available with the present party in power, the likelihood of this ambitious social reform of UCC appears to be very slim, in the interim. However, with general elections on the way, there could be some increasing noise and rhetoric about UCC, in order to effect some polarisation on either side in the ensuing political slugfest. And that should be all about UCC, in the interim. Moreover, without underlying conducive conditions & environment, absence of adequate ground work & preparation, lack of due diligence and absence of any sort of broad socio-political consensus, embarking upon such a socially disruptive move looks totally imprudent, impractical and improbable right now, to say the least. For the present, despite long pendency of cases and a heavily clogged & costly justice delivery system, there is still a stable functioning system with uniformity in many critical areas of civil jurisprudence like contracts, property transfer, labour, taxation, commercial transactions, etc. Criminal jurisprudence is already uniform across the country.

Before this heavily contentious matter of UCC is launched into national public discourse, interim prudent steps like pursuing confidence building measures through inter & intra-community dialogues; engaging with religious community leaders towards exploring & understanding the possibilities of uniformity vis-à-vis commonality; forming expert committees to analyse present gaps & to learn from similar examples in other societies; mandating expert committees & sub-committees to explore common grounds & opportunities both within & outside the communities and to examine feasibilities of a successful disruption; etc. may be some worthwhile and healthy next steps in that direction. In order to initiate a meaningful public discourse on the vexed matter of UCC and to develop a broad political & social consensus on the need to separate social relations and personal laws from religion so as to have common secular laws for all on marriage, divorce & inheritance, etc, an initiative on UCC can only be made, after enough reality check and groundwork.

Assessing challenges and threats, evaluating implications, doing due diligence and exploring opportunities - all of these are going to be long drawn out and difficult processes. Till then, the nation and its citizens may breathe easily and the government may rather utilise the time to focus - on improving and strengthening the existing justice delivery system; on upgrading the required judicial physical infrastructure and processes; on fast-tracking of pending cases; on dispensing of speedier cost-effective justice; on driving peaceful and amicable resolution of family disputes by strengthening the mediation and conciliation framework; on effective gender sensitisation; on empowering of women and of the poor; on upholding of cherished constitutional values; on strengthening of cooperative federalism on ground; and on reinforcing unity in diversity across the country.

All of these shall not only help the nation avoid unnecessary distraction & diversion for now, but shall also enable and strengthen a progressive, strong & harmonious society that this growing nation & its economy so earnestly need, to get back on track and to carry its march forward. Prudence, pragmatism, practicality, caution, diligence, homework, pause, timing, inclusion & dialogue are all critical elements of such a disruptive exercise. Given the AS-IS situation on ground, prudence & pragmatism call for a cautious & diligent pause before embarking on such a societal endeavour. Haste and partisan approach can never be in aid of such a reform. After all, at this scale and complexity, nothing in haste would really work. The key to success lies in a patient & holistic consideration of all aspects of this complex issue, in in exploring common grounds, and in hearing all stakeholders involved - so as to take care of their genuine concerns & insecurities. It would be an understatement here, that a conducive environment is an imperative for the nation, before such a disruption is launched. As they say - Always the Nation first. And Nation is always about the People, first. This endeavour, therefore, may commence where it must always begin – putting the interests of People, first. Top-down approach has little utility, anyways, in matters of social reforms of such scale & complexities, and that too, in a democracy. Political maturity, sagacity and wisdom would always dictate proactiveness in weighing in of the pros & cons before embarking on such a societal endeavour. A pause of prudence & pragmatism, therefore, appears to be practical and an imperative, too. It should serve well here.

To be or not to be - The Curious Case of a reluctant Rahul Gandhi & of his Party in perennial drift

2021-07-09T05:14:00.024-07:00

Over the past two decades and especially in the recent past, neither Rahul nor his Party has seemed to be in control of any narrative worth its salt, or has appeared to effectively reinforce any existing narrative, or has looked to pounce and seize upon a developing narrative, or has successfully built a new meaningful narrative of its own, or for that matter, has reshaped a narrative that has already been there, into an effective one, on ground. Outcomes over the past two decades bear testimony to this assessment.

All Rahul and his Party have been doing thus far is deploying the old, conventional, hackneyed, & dated modus operandi which holds - any reasonable connect or relevance with the realities on ground, or which has the required utility or effectiveness in today's dynamic, fiercely competitive & ever evolving political landscape. It is a shame that the oldest national political party with a pan India presence and its top leader cannot successfully build one new effective pan-India narrative that reflects the dynamism of changing socio-political landscape and which resonates with the hopes & aspirations of masses.

There are reasonable chances that the voters might still have had rejected the narrative built by Rahul and Congress Party but what, if people would have put a stamp over their narrative, even for once. People, at least, would have started considering Rahul and his Congress as a credible pan-India challenger to the formidable BJP-Modi combine. Also, the crucial TINA narrative may have faded away over time and which would have provided some semblance of credibility to the opposition space. But that wasn't to be and given the present inertia, it isn't likely to happen in the near future.

A 24 X 7 X 365 effort on ground - leveraging technology & social media platforms for being the people's voice and for targeted messaging like nobody else, deploying real time communication means on ground to keep information channels open for two-way exchanges, continuously & persistently highlighting & communicating incumbent's failures, countering incumbent's targeted messaging & narratives, deftly & maturely navigating the political maze to chart out the right course, micro-targeting the most marginalised & the deprived communities and joining hands with them to address their specific issues & concerns, shaping new social alliances with the sub-alterns to help them find their voice & to address their aspirations, building & empowering party cadres from booth level & up, engaging & revitalising cadres on ground through periodic meetings & assigning them regular political work, establishing sustained emotional connect with diverse sections of the society by raising issues of their day to day existence & upward mobility, leading from the front on a daily basis, being accessible & visible on ground wherever & whenever the Party needs, periodically monitoring & following up with party workers on ground for desired political outcomes & results, building & empowering teams of local state/district/block level leadership and allowing them to grow & thrive, having the right blend of talented and grounded youth & experience in the leadership set up, etc. - were all required to create such a possibility.

All that effort & diligence have been woefully missing in the political work that reluctant Rahul and his Party in perennial drift, have been able to put in, thus far. Rules of the erstwhile elitist & dynastic political game in India have lost considerable utility & leverage, as politics itself has significantly transformed over time, especially in the Hindi belt and in battle ground States. And so have the rules of real politic & of the political chess board. The Challenger needed to be in sync with the demands of these changing times. There was no other way to go about it but to breath, drink, eat, walk, talk, sleep & live politics - day in & day out, if one wanted to step in as a Challenger to the formidable all weather Modi-BJP-Sangh combine. For people not used to the grinds of life and not in sync with times, all of these, could be a tough ask, for sure. But then, if alertness, resolve and hard work matches the intent & goal, then, one can aim to cross such hurdles and can live up to the task.

Further, in order to shape up, frame & present a credible counter narrative and option before a diverse, youthful and aspirational nation, the Challenger and his Party needed to grasp and understand the various hues & shades of incumbent's political work and messaging, deep enough. It was critical to not only know the Modi-BJP-Sangh combine and its strategies but also to comprehend finer nuances and granular details of the diligence & level of preparedness that the combine offered to people. It was imperative for Rahul & his Party to read, observe & analyse not only the written & the visible but also the invisible & the unwritten. Only then, they could have proactively & effectively matched the nature, scale, intensity & effectiveness of effort, discipline, granular work, efficiency, resources & nimbleness that the incumbent's massive political machinery deployed on ground.

It is well known that the ground realities of society, economy & politics have completely changed since the '90s and they continue to evolve with time and so have the rules of political discourse & engagement. Thus, any narrative that could effectively challenge the incumbent's narrative, had to reflect the complexities & the dynamism of ground realities and that which provided a voice to peoples' evolving aspirations. Also, no "one size fits all" narrative could work everywhere. Each Region/State in the country has its own contradictions, specific issues and evolving socio-political realities & challenges, on the ground.

Political parties can't operate in silos. They obviously need to be continuously alert of the signals emanating from the field and have to be well cognisant of the diversity of changing needs & demands from the ground, so as to prepare and effectively address & respond to those challenges, in time. Politics that is dated is no politics. It is as dynamic and complex, as is human life. Diverse and competing human needs & aspirations for actualisation & assertion are increasingly at work in today's political firmament. Various kinds of social & economic forces and influences are in play, at any given point in time. All kinds of competing equations and political contradictions are at work on the ground and those have to be addressed and managed in time. Unless one is proactive, alert, aware and cognisant of such factors and of their possible impact on the political fortunes, one is bound to miss the bus and to be left behind. More importantly, it's about developing sustained emotional connect with such diverse & competing electorate and also about successfully generating a positive lasting perception, to create a vibrant support base, for any political party.

Therefore, the mantra for prevailing in this political battle, remains, as universal, as it can be. However, the road to redemption is extremely tough, demanding, ruthless, unforgiving, and complex. Despite the challenges of the task, it's still doable as there are individuals & parties which surmount such adversities. No reinventing the wheel is really required, as there are no superhumans involved in this game and it ain't a rocket science, either. It's all about plain common sense (political sense is nothing but this), being proactive & diligent, knowing the pulse of people, being alert and keeping eyes & ears open, being connected & engaged, comprehending competition well, working hard & smart, giving voice to people on ground, being genuinely inclusive, taking everyone along, exercising maturity & balance, allowing & empowering organic growth of leadership in the field, being hands-on, having talent & experience around and of course, leading by example.

Also, import of symbolism in politics & political messaging can never be understated as it carries a lot of weight in establishing a direct emotional connect with people and in directly conveying political messages without much ado. In a socially & culturally sensitive society, the reach & impact of symbols & symbolism can be wide, vast and lasting, in a very short span of time. Nothing impacts people's psyche as much as, a timely & correct act of political symbolism, as it directly resonates with people's emotions & insecurities, in no time. Symbols leave lasting imprints on the minds of people and if also matched by substance, they can prove to be absolutely decisive in the battle for peoples' hearts & minds. No wonder, symbolism remains an extremely powerful tool in politics and in political messaging as it can change people's perception & views overnight - much to a politician's advantage or to the opponent's disadvantage, without the person doing or conveying much. Of course, Symbolism works well in combination with application of common sense (political sense), with right timing and with supportive substantive political work, in order to keep reaping sustained political dividends.

Smart politicians & political parties successfully employ symbols and symbolism, to a great desired effect, for their immediate and/or future political advantages & dividends, as they understand its utility well in creating lasting powerful imprints on the psyche of their targetted audience. In politics & political messaging, usage of symbolism to one's advantage, at the right opportunity & time, is an Art in itself. Modi-BJP combine has perfected this Art, over time, and as a result, it has reaped huge political dividends, over the years. Rahul and his Party have an absolutely woeful track record in this space, too. Both he and his Party have proved to be no match to the Modi-BJP combine, in the use of symbols. However, this Art could have been learnt & imbibed by observing those, who have discreetly & successfully used it for huge political dividends, in the past.

This is now very much visible that incumbent's political challenge has so far proven to be too much for the reluctant Rahul and for his drifting Party. They just don't appear to have the mojo left in them to fight it out as a credible opponent to the incumbent or to impact the political scene in any significant way. Both Rahul and his Party, at best, have appeared clueless, confused and somewhat lost in the drift. More importantly, they either seem to not realise what they are missing or appear too reluctant to shed their old habits to change. It certainly appears to be a case of a caged victim of one's own past.

Both Rahul and his Party have continued to practice the dated 'Congress way' or 'Congress ism' which hasn't led them anywhere, in recent times. And the most unfortunate part is that despite repeated and massive electoral setbacks, Rahul and his Party don't seem to even realise or accept that the old 'Congress way' is now redundant and that major gaps exist in his leadership and within the Party's ecosystem. Neither do they appear warranted or worried enough to be seriously attempting to arrest the slide in their fast dwindling support base, which has continued unabated before their eyes. It's strange that they fail to even analyse and learn from their weaknesses & setbacks. Accepting the weakness is the first step towards redemption, as they say. Also, when has hoping against hope been a good tactic or strategy. No wonder, their downward slide has continued, unabated.

Also, Rahul's moving away from Hindi heartland to Waynad seat and the persistent uncertainty over the leadership in his Party have not only sent wrong signals but also have considerably reduced Rahul's relevance in the region's dominant political discourse. Neither has this inertia helped his Party's cause in the cow belt. And, it could never have. Hindi heartland's political space has regularly been shrinking for Congress over past decades and today the crisis for Congress has assumed existential proportions in many of these States. Credible, mature & wise satraps of regional parties, as fighting alternatives to the Hindutva bandwagon, in their own respective backyards, have seized & pounced upon the opportunities coming their way and have proved as a bulwark to the saffron surge in many ways. These regional satraps have continued to strengthen and expand their hold over the Opposition (to BJP) space that Rahul and his Party have either continued to concede or have failed to capitalise upon. Today, Rahul and his Congress have to understand that the ground under their feet is fast slipping away. And their downhill slide is not slow. Therefore, they just can't operate as the old Congress Party anymore. They need to wake up to the ground realities and do what it takes, to start functioning and behaving as a formidable Opposition party in order to win people's favour back and become the peoples' voice that they clamour for. For that, they would first need to believe in themselves, that yes, they can do it, before people start believing in them.

In fact, ideology in today's competitive politics has considerably lost its sheen & substance although its jargons & masks still remain popular & in wide use. Ideological base & rhetoric of successful political parties don't seem to drive or match the political decisions and political action, on ground, anymore. The ideological debates, these days, appear to be more confined to the academic circles, to the drawing rooms and amongst the chattering classes on TV. Ideological utility, perhaps, is now overhyped & exaggerated, in the political space. In any case, ideology, if static, inherently carries an element of redundancy and, if left to its own, can become dated & much irrelevant, over time.

Practitioners & followers of ideology, in real politic, must be open and pragmatic enough to be cognisant of the need to constantly adapt, shape up and marry aspects of their ideology with the changing & evolving times - competing needs & aspirations of people, popular ethos & morality, evolving complexities of identities & traditions, demands of inclusive welfare, equity & economic redistribution, social equality & justice, national interest, global influences & headwinds, etc - by means of sustained political work on ground and by establishing lasting emotional connect with the people.

The fact that Congress Party and Rahul continue to be perennially lost in their own thing and have repeatedly failed to get their act together is certainly a bad news for democracy and for the nation, to say the least. Strong Opposition is an imperative, for any vibrant & mature democracy. Good news is that Congress still has a nationwide presence, is a national party - albeit in broken pieces, and can still be politically relevant as it proclaims to reflect the nation's constitutional values, ethos & morality, albeit in much weakened & skewed form & substance. However, legacies in politics only help, thus far, if they are not backed up by relevant vision, dynamism, due diligence, and necessary care & caution, over time.

In order to be a credible & viable nationwide Challenger for people's hearts & minds, today's pertinent need is to not only have a mature leadership that walks & talks politics and means business but also to have enough able, informed, committed, inspired, patient, proactive & energetic foot soldiers on ground who can be the voice of the people and who can adopt, embrace & imbibe the evolving realities on ground, in their responses - timely & meaningful political action, well crafted communication and thoughtful service & cooperation.

The fact that politics, on ground, is an extremely complex act with so many competing and contradictory forces and demands, all at work at the same time, is an understatement. Politics is as driven by ethos & popular morality, as it is, by people's competing needs & aspirations, and both are always extremely dynamic in nature. Social realities, aspirations, consumerism, global influences, pace of life and fierce competition for resources & opportunities, in this age of communication, do not allow a common man to survive with dignity, on just the promises of ideals & ideologies. Being pragmatic and real, is the way to survive, in today's dynamic & fiercely competitive ecosystem. The common man is wise enough to learn and understand this fact of life and so is the street-smart politician who can read the pulse of common man, well, before others do, and who has the ability to put wind in the sails of the common man's aspirations.

After all, it's all about being alive & kicking in the moment that differentiates the winner from a loser. The sooner the shortcomings, the reluctance, the confusion, the ambiguity, the predicament, the complacency, and the sense of entitlement are shed, the quicker the clarity, the purpose, the moorings & the mojo, would be found. Given the high stakes involved, anyone else would have already considered allowing change & hope, a certain chance back into the mix, and that too, on yesterday basis. Politics, remains the art of the possible. And redemption there, ain't rocket science, either.

Political thuggery has no place in a civilised, democratic society.

2016-10-22T05:06:00.001-07:00

Enough is enough! It's time we citizens speak up. This country and its law abiding citizens can't be held to ransom any more by goons of MNS (and their likes) - who hide behind political affiliations and political protests. It’s time law of the land firmly catches up with these hooligans and appropriate timely decisive action is taken by law enforcement to bring them to justice and to deny them any sort of legitimacy.

Peaceful political protest is a matter of right in any constitutional democracy but no right is absolute. Yes, liberty of political protest is granted by our constitution but this right is not absolute. Reasonable restrictions in law disallow any disturbance to public order or harmony, or any violent act or any intimidation of citizens with fear for their life or for bodily injury or for damage to their property or for economic losses or any trampling of rights of citizens.

Our democratic polity is founded on the bedrock of rule of law. Explicit or implicit threats of violence to law abiding citizens with respect to their life, liberty or property by such goons under the veil of democratic protest can't be allowed to go on unbridled without law enforcement taking appropriate and timely cognisance and suitably dealing with them. It’s time law of the land catches up with these thugs and hooligans threatening peace and tranquility in the community for their selfish and ulterior motives.

Such extra-constitutional methods and criminal behaviour to gain political legitimacy and space are absolutely UNACCEPTABLE in any civilised democratic society / polity - governed by rule of law. In our constitutional scheme, no one has the right to take law or the role of law enforcement in its own hands or to assume the role of a public policy enforcer or to even act as the moral police. It is only the Government of the day which has the mandate to enforce law or to frame public policy or to curb citizen's rights in public and national interest.

Time has come that these thugs and crackpots - who have scant regard for law of the land, who have little respect for rights of silent law abiding citizens, who have utter disregard for freedom and liberty of others, who care the least about national interest or about public order over their self interest and who keep daring and testing Government's patience and restraint, must now be firmly taken to task as per law.

Without sounding repetitive here, these goons and thugs must be booked and brought to justice for their anti-constitutional methods such as criminal intimidation and threat to cause grievous injury or death or for disturbing peace and public order, or for instigating violence or for causing arson or for vandalising or damaging public property or for threatening internal security or for violating and curbing other rights of citizens in the bargain - as the case may be.

Moreover, this crooked narrative of democratic protests underlined by violence, arson, threats, fear mongering and criminal intimidation, must be condemned, opposed, dismissed and lawfully dealt with by civil society, with all the power and resources at its command. Civil society's voice and role in tackling with this disturbing narrative is no way of lesser importance here. It must enhance its active involvement in promoting and strengthening the narrative of rule of law, public order, constitutional values, peace and harmony and in bridging societal gaps, if any.

India is on the verge of becoming an economic superpower. This nation aspires to achieve that status and it is critical that these aspirations are realised soon. Peace, order and stability are therefore an absolute imperative here. Economic development and growth is not possible in an environment of chaos, disorder and insecurity. Decisive and efficient management of public order, safety and peace is the foremost function of governance.

Government of the day which is mandated to determine public policy and to enforce rule of law must gather enough political will so as to take firm appropriate lawful decisive action to bring the goons and thugs of MNS (and their likes) to justice and to ensure equality of all before law. At the same time, Government of the land is duty bound to ensure protection and safety of life, liberty and property of citizens. Government's response must instill confidence and adequate sense of safety and security in the citizenry.

It is, henceforth, critical that the Government proclaims that there will be zero tolerance to any political hooliganism or to any violence or to any threats of violence or of public disorder being perpetrated under the veil of political protests by such goons and thugs. The Government must respond lawfully, appropriately and firmly and must be seen in such light so as to assure safety to its citizens besides sending a stern message to the goons of MNS (and their likes).

Also, the role of national and local media in preventing this menace to spread further can’t be over emphasised here. Media coverage to these violent political protests and intimidation by goons serves as oxygen for such unlawful behaviour and designs. Space in media emboldens these goons who feed and thrive on publicity. Let’s not give the airtime and space that these thugs do not deserve. Anchors and editors need to exercise more discretion and self-restraint in choosing public interest over giving in to TRP led impulses. Media must seize on this important opportunity of doing a greater public service by shunning these hooligans, their narrative and their violent ways.

Finally, it's time that these goons and thugs of MNS (and their likes) learn a lesson that this nation is governed by rule of law. A stern message must go out from the Government to these hooligans that their threats, intimidations, vandalisation, violent and extra-constitutional ways will not be tolerated anymore and law enforcement will catch up with them in a firm and decisive manner, no matter what. This is what good governance and rule of law proclaim and demand and this is where the real challenge to governance lies today.

p.s. By the way, I don’t carry any brief for anybody on the subject. Views are personal.

Rule of Law - Nation's command and its bulwark too!!

2016-02-18T14:06:00.001-08:00

Series of incidents and events in Academic institutions of repute across the country - leading up to the on going JNU turmoil, have once again highlighted the growing politicisation and degeneration of Campus environment at Centres of learning in general and Institutions of Higher learning, in particular. And the situation has come down to such lows that, at times, a section of students and /or lumpen elements at these Campuses with active involvement of outsiders, have arguably started indulging in anti-national activities in utter disregard of the laws of the land and in absolute disrespect for the very Institutions that they are part of. This can’t be allowed under any pretext, it is completely unacceptable and the Government of the day must diligently, lawfully, fairly, non-arbitrarily, appropriately and decisively deal with it, wherever credible evidence lies. On the other hand, the accused of such charges must submit themselves to judicial process and must stand the test of trial in a Court of law and let the Court/s determine, decide and administer the justice.

People indulging in any kind of anti-national activities at these Campuses, if held to be true, can’t be allowed to hide behind freedom of speech/expression or under autonomy of Institution. They are accountable to the law of the land. Freedom of speech and expression under Article 19 (1)(a) in the Constitution is not absolute. This fundamental right is a qualified one and is subject to reasonable restrictions as enumerated under Article 19 (2). With freedoms cometh some duties and restraints. For instance, interpreting sedition law, Supreme Court, over the years, has held that whenever, the exercise of such freedom by words of disaffection or by any act which creates or attempts to create hatred or enmity against the State resulting in violence or causing public disorder, then, at that moment, such freedom ends and provision of sedition applies. The speech or expression against the State must be intrinsically dangerous and should be accompanied by violence or public disorder (that was intended), to fall under the ambit of sedition. Therefore, under our constitutional order, any speech or expression that is intended to hurt the sacrosanct concepts of security, sovereignty and integrity of the Union and which aims to and results in public disorder or violence, is an absolute NO-NO. This is the law of the land.

Without a doubt, freedom of enquiry and academic autonomy of institution are required for the Institution to thrive, for advancement of learning and development of students. But such autonomy is also not absolute….not even when the Institution is private funded or unaided. In essence, Institutional freedom means the freedom to appoint faculty, set academic standards and admit students i.e. who may teach, what may be taught, how it should be taught, and who may be admitted to study. But academic and institutional autonomy cannot be misunderstood or linked with freedom of speech and expression. Any autonomy goes hand in hand with accountability and responsibility. And there is no freedom from accountability or responsibility under any institutional scheme of things – public or private.

The Faculty is governed by the rules of the Academic Institution and the Academic Institution, likewise, is overseen and governed by the relevant policies, rules and regulations of the respective Governments – at Centre or States. Further, no Academic institution or its rules and regulations can override or go against the laid out public policy of the State - either at Centre or at States. Any compromise with academic standards, academic environment, maladministration, corruption, non-compliance, public order, etc. will attract appropriate Central and State statutes and provisions. Period!

On the other hand, such untoward developments are symptoms of a deeper malaise which is the rampant politicisation of Academic Campuses. These incidents are sending loud and clear messages to political parties and groups across the spectrum – It is time now to STEP BACK and TAKE STOCK of the effect of this malaise on Campuses. It is time now to STOP further politicisation and vitiation of these temples of learning for vested interests and ulterior motives. It’s time now to STOP fighting dirty proxy political battles by manipulating young minds - one against the other and by using the turfs of these Academic institutions for selfish and narrow ends. It’s time now to STOP meddling in the affairs of the students or in the functioning of students bodies on College and University Campuses, from outside.

Let the young minds on Campuses discover and figure out the nuts and bolts of students politics and democratic political process themselves. Let the young minds debate, discuss, falter and learn on their own - without getting manipulated by either outside forces or by Faculty. Let them be themselves - independent, free and responsible enough to make their own democratic choices, to decide for themselves and to take charge of student welfare / issues in their own way within the given constitutional and institutional framework. They are there for that very purpose and even if they are imperfect in their political decision making (they being students after all), let them learn and find a way out on their own within the ambit of rules and law. More importantly, this approach will help cleanse student politics at Campuses and restore Campus sanity as well. This new direction is required and is certainly in national interest.

The same loud messages go out to some in the Administration and to some amongst the teaching fraternity on these Campuses as well. Hope they are listening!!

Imposition of one ideology, one belief system, one narrative or one school of thought in Academic institutions, in this day and age, simply cannot work because it not only goes against the Constitutional order but also against the ingrained ethos of this land of extraordinary pluralism and rich diversities - multiple narratives, multiple faiths, multiple ideologies, multiple ethnicities and multiple cultures, that this nation is so blessed to have and its citizens so proud to possess.

Parents make huge sacrifices to send their sons and daughters to these vibrant seats of learning to study, to ask questions and to seek answers, to burn midnight oil, to challenge themselves, to broaden their horizons and understanding of the world, to become responsible citizens and to prepare themselves for a better future but in NO WAY to become mere pawns at the hands of political parties or groups to serve petty political interests on Campuses.

Academic institutions are not meant to wage wars of ideologies, or to fight pitched political battles, or to misuse it for illegal or anti-national activities, or to engage in vandalism, indiscipline or violence. They are primarily meant for noble pursuits of knowledge and excellence, for liberating young minds of dogmas, for discussing and debating issues that matter, for sharing and learning from diverse thoughts and experiences of each other, for working hard and challenging one's limits every day and for imbibing explicit values of respect, ethics, integrity and accountability - that are so essential in shaping up and preparing oneself for future life and for making a difference in this competitive civilised world.

Moreover, any person or group of persons which engages in physical violence, indulges in vandalism and arson, takes law into its own hands, and makes a mockery of rule of law not only violates the law of the land but also violates the sanctity of Constitution. Such persons not only shame the civilised society but also do a disservice to the nation by their unlawful acts. Violence has no place in democracy and nobody is above the law. Nation is governed by rule of law.

Lastly, if enforcers of law wilfully do not take cognisance of an offence already made or being made and ignore or look the other way round against their mandated duty or if they act arbitrarily or in a prejudiced or discriminatory manner, then it is not merely a dereliction of duty but rule of law becomes a casualty. Rule of law dictates that no one is above law, enforcement officials are accountable to law, executive action must stand the test of legality, equality before law is enforced in letter and spirit, offenders are treated in accordance with procedure established by law, a fair investigation and a just trial is given to the accused, principal of natural justice must be followed and alleged offender (if found guilty) must be brought to justice within a reasonable period of time.

Those who are mandated to uphold the law, to enforce rule of law, to aid administration of justice and to protect the dignity and sanctity of Constitution have a much wider role to play in the Society. They must be role models to their fellow citizens in respecting and upholding the law of the land and the Constitution. The Nation holds them in high esteem and looks up to them for inspiration.

Rule of law MUST PREVAIL in all circumstances because there lies the key to freedom, liberty, unity, peace, strength and progress. It is one of the basic structures of Constitution. Rule of law must be a living reality to its citizens for the Nation and its democracy to prosper and thrive.

Manauwarul Haque

(Someone who had the privilege of going to three Central Universities – AMU, JNU and DU over a period of three decades, and who takes great pride in being part of these prestigious seats of learning)

(Views are personal)

2015-01-18T23:55:00.002-08:00

Good Governance – An Agenda for Change

Structural Reforms, Technology leverage, Lateral entry of Experts and Professionals

Governance - a holistic process combined with an underlying framework or structure, determines who takes the important decisions, how such decisions are taken and in what time, who all get to know those decisions, what results are desired out of those decisions, what all it takes to execute such decisions, what results are ultimately achieved out of such decisions and who all are accountable for such decisions and for their outcomes. With rising levels of education, awareness, aspirations and expanding reach of social media and communication technologies, demand for governance by the citizens has grown manifold. Moreover, the complexities and challenges of governance in a fairly liberalised and globally connected economy have grown significantly too. Understandably so, governance has increasingly acquired the prominence in national discourse today – primarily on account of its direct and profound relevance in efficient and effective delivery of welfare programs and development initiatives towards the common good of citizens.

Governance, by nature, is dynamic and positive as it aims to achieve the desired results of common good for the benefit of citizens, society and nation, irrespective of where it is applied – in government or in private sector or in civil society organisations. Therefore, calling governance as good governance does not change its meaning - rather it enhances and reinforces the idea of common good. Given the all-encompassing functions of government, good or bad governance really determines the fate of any delivery mechanism adopted by the government, irrespective of the field in which it operates.

Good governance is perhaps the single most important factor today in determining the success of government’s poverty eradication programs, in maintenance of rule of law, in administering of timely justice, in driving rapid economic growth (in a globally connected economy), in promoting level playing field, in fostering equity, in facilitating a liberal and compliance-oriented regime for businesses and so on and so forth. Naturally, it plays a powerful role in government functioning towards ensuring an overall enabling environment for delivering the desired outcomes – rapid, balanced, equitable growth and development.

No time in the history of this nation has been as critical as it is today when India is on the verge of taking that big leap into the frontline of nations. The risk, otherwise, is that it could be left behind forever. No matter how able are the politicians or how efficient are the bureaucrats or how abundant are the resources or how entrepreneurial is the private sector or how productive is the human capital (not that we don’t need all of these in reasonable measure), without the system of good governance underlying a lean, robust and responsive government structure, the best outcome typically would be either a status quo situation i.e. more of the same for the nation.

Adoption of good governance processes and systems can only be ignored by this nation to its own peril given the complexity and scale of challenges and issues in this day and age. It is good that the idea of good governance has arrived with a bang in this country and the nation understands its relevance and promise. People’s overwhelming support to Modi-BJP in the last general elections is ample evidence of the same.

Today, citizens want participation and their voices heard in the overall decision making process from which they have been kept out for long. Aspirational India is demanding a strategic vision for the nation from its leaders and wants to see the translation of that vision in form of progressive, pragmatic policies and procedures and their efficient execution. These are the times of transparency and accountability. Nobody can take the India of today for a ride. The citizens are increasingly aware and conscious of their rights now unlike the days of the past. Systems and processes can’t remain opaque any more. Information on policies, processes and decisions taken (or not taken) will have to flow freely and access to such information will have to be provided in a timely manner.

The nation can’t be kept in the dark now. Citizens are not only looking at being a part of the decision making process but seek to monitor the progress as well. People, as stakeholders, want to be taken into confidence and to have their voices heard when plans, strategies and priorities in the context of development are decided and also while fruits of development are shared across regions. Similarly, days of minimal / zero accountability in this country are over now - for good. The governance system needs to be credible and citizen friendly rather than adversarial. Citizen is not because of the system. It is rather otherwise.

Moreover, the nation today needs equity and rule of law to prevail – perhaps more than ever. It has suffered on this account for long and it can’t afford to do so now if it has to take that big leap. No growth or development on a sustainable basis is possible in an unfair system which breeds violation of rights, inequity, corruption, discrimination, injustice, violence, apathy, bias, non-enforcement and non-compliance of laws, etc. Rule of law brings equal opportunity to all towards their well-being, protects human rights, empowers the weak, and makes the system fair and free. Moreover, economic growth can’t be allowed to be skewed anymore after having experienced the situation where various States (West Bengal, Orissa, BIMARU, North Eastern states, etc.) got left out. Moreover, people are just fed up of dealing with compromised integrity and ethics of personnel manning the governance system.

The integral and moot question is that how does the nation get there. It is true that strategic vision, strong political will, administrative acumen and decisiveness in the political leadership shall play critical roles in driving this process. However, the real planning, organising, implementation, delivery and monitoring on the ground are done by the administrative machinery - the system. Unless the administrative framework, the structure and the personnel manning the administrative system are geared towards the needs of the times, this good governance process either won’t yield desired results or would remain a non-starter.

Clearly, the existing structural framework of bureaucracy continues to suffer from a deep colonial hangover wherein the legacy colonial bureaucratic structure and machinery (so called “steel frame’) was designed to rule this colony and sustain the rule of sovereign British Masters. Founding fathers of Constitution, in the aftermath of Partition, decided to continue with this legacy framework for a strong Centre, as that was the pragmatic way out (in the contextual sense) at that point in time. Successive governments since independence have continued to feel the need for restructuring the bureaucracy but have failed to do so. Most of the Administrative Reform Commissions / Committees (ARCs) and their recommendations have remained non-starters at best. Some well-meaning recommendations of ARC’s (one such Committee had 500+ recommendations) and of other committees have continued to bite the dust for several decades. Besides, absence of strong political will, the politician-bureaucrat nexus, license raj regime, lack of consensus and bureaucratic stranglehold over administrative reforms have successfully been able to scuttle such reform moves until now.

Today, the general problems of bureaucracy are many. Poor professionalism, patchy quality of policy making, absence of benchmarking, capability deficit and relevant skills gap, poor public service aptitude, incompetence, non-performance, integrity issues, inefficiency and ineffectiveness, poor use of technology, partiality and bias, resistance to change, prevalence of mai-baap culture, collusion with political class, being too involved in maintenance of party in power at times, nexus with vested and special interests, widespread corruption, little empathy towards the needs of citizens it serves, poor connect with public, critical cog in crony capitalism, etc. are all widely known and acknowledged. This is notwithstanding the fact that bureaucracy still has some very competent and bright people within its fold but their spark, talent, vigour and motivation are usually marred and blunted by the long standing systemic ills of bureaucracy.

Too many generalists, too much of discretionary power (and its misuse), little accountability, security of job, constitutional protection that has outlived its utility, ruler/regulator role instead of facilitator / public service orientation, absence of timely recognition, lack of reward and deterring punishment, absence of personal responsibility, interference of politicians, frequent transfers and absence of continuity are some of the systemic issues afflicting the “steel frame”.

During the LokPal debates last year, an argument was floating in the media about possibilities of frivolous public complaints against bureaucrats that could make even honest and upright officers stop taking decisions for the fear of the same. People making such arguments were conveniently forgetting the fact that the bureaucrats are hired to make decisions in an independent and honest manner - without fear or favour. And they are mandated to implement such decisions as well. Aren't they paid and well taken care of by the taxpayers for their services rendered to the nation. If suppose, for any reason, a bureaucrat stops taking decisions, then, will there be any justification left for him to continue in office and continue to draw salaries and perks. After all, such bureaucrats always have the option to step down and pursue something else and let other capable people - who are willing to serve and make decisions, replace them. There is no dearth of talented and committed people outside the bureaucracy. The very notion that bureaucrats do some sort of a favour to the nation by taking decisions is plain elitist and is completely obnoxious. There is no dearth of talented and capable replacements available outside the bureaucracy nowadays.

Casteism, regionalism and communalism are factors that are also widely prevalent today - across levels of bureaucracy and which significantly hamper its functioning, delivery and credibility. The divisions in Indian society are not only reflected in the ranks of the bureaucracy, but this bureaucratic malaise reinforces such social divisions leading to repeated violations of social, economic and political rights of people - especially of the weaker sections. This not only widens the existing fissures in the society but considerably weakens the nation and its progress too.

The role of a bureaucrat has itself widened beyond recognition - from merely enforcement of law and order and revenue collection during independence time to administering a plethora of planned national and State welfare programs, economic policy formulation, implementation and regulation besides running of PSUs, today. Bureaucracy is simply overburdened with too much stuff in its plate than what it can really chew. And this is topped up by too much of discretionary power and very little systemic accountability towards the stakeholders, it serves. Interestingly, the salary and perks along with time-bound promotions are assured even if a bureaucrat just keeps signing on the files put up before him without making any reasonable contribution until retirement. Absence of reward or punishment on delivery or non-delivery of performance, absence of personal responsibility and lack of accountability are key factors in such rut settling in there.

The bureaucracy, hardly has any delivery driven and performance improvement culture wherein objective and scientific performance measurement could be the focal point of its evaluation process. One can’t improve anything which doesn’t ever get measured – both quantitatively and qualitatively. There is still no metrics based appraisal system for bureaucrats where-in they could be appraised on measurable achievements against pre-set mandatory annual / half yearly quantifiable and qualitative targets. The tragedy of performance in current bureaucracy is that a zero and a hero are appraised and treated alike. There is simply no incentive or systemic benefit for talent and hard work in bureaucracy - motivating it to perform to its potential or to excel, thereby causing talent and potential to waste in mediocrity over a period of time. Culture of excellence appears to be an alien phrase in this space.

Structurally, the issues start right at the recruitment stage where bureaucrats (excluding a few academicians on UPSC panels) select bureaucrats. Aspirants from all academic backgrounds have been allowed to sit for IAS in the Civil Services exams. It is hard to comprehend that a Bachelors degree in Public Administration is still not a compulsory requirement to be an IAS officer in India. Then, there is the grossly misused constitutional protection provided to bureaucrats through Article 311 that deals with protecting them from dismissal or removal from service. Although it was meant to enable bureaucracy to function honestly and independently but in this day and age of rampant corruption, such protection has virtually given it a free hand.

Another grossly misused protection for bureaucrats is granted vide statute – Section 6A of DSPE Act wherein a mandatory sanction or clearance is required from the Ministry (politician) before prosecuting senior bureaucrats on corruption charges while in office. And such undesirable and unreasonable protection continues throughout the life cycle of a bureaucrat giving him or her virtually a free hand in use or misuse of authority. In other words, the issue is that there is too much of discretionary authority vested in bureaucracy that virtually provides unfettered grounds for misuse of such power and authority without fear or accountability. Then, there are issues of very wide range of functions and job responsibilities of bureaucrats that most of them simply fail to handle and do justice with besides the fact that there has been growing tendency towards systemic centralisation of power in bureaucracy and very little devolution of power to the people on ground.

For instance, more than desired authority and responsibility assigned to the office of DM / Collector has almost made this Office loaded with unbridled decision making authority and, at the same time, has burdened it with a work load that is realistically unmanageable and unjustified - more so for a relatively junior bureaucrat. The current job description of a District Magistrate - in its current form and substance, definitely needs to be objectively evaluated. It defies logic that the senior District Education, Planning, Public works, Irrigation, Rural Works, Health, Transport, Food and Civil supply, Industries, Disaster Management, Drugs Control, and other senior functionaries (having 20-25 years of experience) have to report to the District Magistrate who is a relatively junior bureaucrat with just 6-7 years of administrative experience and little clue of the specific functions.

Another example of questionable arrangement at the District level is that delivery of most of the social welfare schemes at district level is routed through the overly burdened office of DM / Collector instead of having direct planning and implementation at the level of Panchayat institutions and Urban local bodies having due representation from local people with self-help groups / NGOs assisting the effort . In essence, there isn’t much of devolution of real power and authority to the citizens at ground level. Neither is any outsourcing of non-core activities to autonomous, semi-autonomous bodies, NGOS at the District or State level despite two decades of 72^nd/ 73^rd amendments. The answer to this malaise probably lies in divesting the office of DM / Collector with development and judicial functions and letting it focus on core functions of revenue collection, law and order and coordination with different agencies.

There is no mid-career appraisal system to remove the bottom 20-30% in bureaucratic machinery. Absence of any mid-career performance appraisal to weed out the chronic non-performers, lack of any lateral entry of professionals and experts in middle and senior levels of bureaucracy or even in PSU senior management , absence of any independent social or community audit of performance of a bureaucrat, poor customer service and development orientation, poor quality standards and lack of benchmarking on services delivered by bureaucrats, absence of meaningful performance metrics in appraisal system, lack of timely rewards and punitive measures, inadequate reach out and interfacing with public, very little leveraging of technology and analytics in planning or delivery, foo much focus on adherence to rules instead of on outcomes, reactive approach to governance instead of a pro-active one, absence of collaboration and partnership with citizens, advisory nature of constitutional offices of CVC and CAG, etc. are some major impediments in obtaining operational efficiency and accountability of bureaucrats.

Interestingly, the bureaucrats keep getting half month salaries and perks even when they get suspended (though seldom they are) on corruption or misdemeanour charges. Has any bureaucrat - found guilty of causing loss of revenue or loss of capital to the exchequer, ever been asked to deposit the lost amount? Given the widespread corruption in government departments across levels, large scale misappropriation and wastage of governmental funds and increasing misuse of authority / discretionary power in allocation of quotas and licenses - all happening under the watch of bureaucrats, how many bureaucrats in independent India have been dismissed from service for corruption or for dereliction of duty or for misdeeds in last sixty five years? Probably, they can be counted on fingers. Tragic isn’t it? For instance, 20+ people died in Patna in the wake of a stampede during Dusshehra celebrations last year. For administrative action, a few officers (DM, ADM, SP, and IG) were simply transferred and an eye-wash enquiry was set up. Is this a proportionate punishment for such a tragedy - arguably caused by dereliction of duty of officials? In private sector, loss of lives in such high numbers due to safety issue or inaction of officials in, e.g. let's say in a factory of a Manufacturing Company could have led to not only the dismissal of some officers directly responsible and the Chief of that Factory but could also have led to the resignation of CEO of that company in some cases. Thus, the drift in accountability and personal responsibility in bureaucracy has gone on for too long now and it must be arrested sooner than later, by all legitimate and reasonable means.

Given the fact that a number of honest, hardworking, upright, brilliant officers are still in bureaucracy and who are still able to contribute on an individual basis, their number is unfortunately in a minority. Such exceptions and individual / personality driven functioning is no governance system at all and hence not relevant here. The question is whether the current bureaucratic structure and the bureaucracy in general in its current avatar can meet the current needs, complexities and challenges of a rapidly growing economy and of an aspirational youthful nation or not. The existing governance structure and processes are inadequate in today's context. The delivery system as laid out today is ill equipped without a doubt.

Moreover, domain expertise in relevant field - specialised skills, knowledge and adequate experience in the relevant field at the top of bureaucracy has been ignored for far too long. The reasons are simple – the scope, complexities, challenges of a modern day setting and the skills required to comprehend and grapple with the same can only come with specific skills and relevant experience over the years. These are times of extremely complex problems requiring specific skills and vast relevant experience to deal with the problems and issues at hand. In such a scenario, Air India has had successive bureaucrats with little or absolutely no aviation experience as its MD/CEO – driving that Airline into a debt hole of Rs.40000 crores with losses running into Rs.5000 crores a year over the last decade or so. Those bureaucrats, having spent 15-20 years in leading unrelated small size Departments in States and in Centre, got pitch forked into running a complex global commercial Airline with a turnover of Rs.20000+ crores and with 27000+ people working there. Had the Airline not been bailed out with the Rs.30000 crores government package of taxpayer money, the Airlines would have surely gone down into bankruptcy.

Coal is such a critical input for fuel depleted power industry in this country. Coal India Ltd. (CIL) is already grappling with production target shortfalls, lately, thereby creating fuel shortages for fuel hungry power industry across the country. This shortage has forced various power plants to import coal at a higher price and those power plants which can't afford to import coal are lying idle for want of coal supplies from CIL. The current CIL Chief is a bureaucrat having just two years of experience in Coal Ministry and rest of his experience is in unrelated departments and Ministries. Previously, he has spent most of his time in his parent State in departments of land revenue, irrigation, urban development, textiles, sugar, etc. Another bureaucrat – an Additional Secretary Coal was heading CIL for the last six months. He had no coal sector or industrial experience and had served in his parent State in departments of Taxes, Expenditure, Forests and Wild life, and at Centre in Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Panchayati Raj, Cabinet Secretariat, Delhi University (as Registrar), etc. It is interesting to note that more than 3.5 lacs people work in this organisation and CIL’s annual turnover stands at Rs.1 lac crores plus. Will any private sector organisation of that size and complexities commit such hara-kiri and hire a person of that profile as CEO/MD anywhere in the world?

Another bureaucrat is the MD of Projects and Development India Ltd. – a consultancy organisation of project experts. Another one is the CEO of HUDCO. National Highway Authority has three bureaucrats as Member -Technical and Member - Finance. Controller General of Patents and Trademark is a bureaucrat. CAG, CIC, Competition Commission, Telecom Regulatory Authority, SEBI, CERC, Spice Board, Rubber Board, etc. all have bureaucrats as Heads. Previous RBI governors have been bureaucrats. PSUs like SAIL and FCI have had bureaucrat CMDs in the past. There is only one Authority – DG Hydrocarbons where a technocrat is the Head today. Probably, some more PSUs have technocrat Heads as aberrations. In States, almost all PSUs have bureaucrats as CEOs/MDs. And the long list of such appointments in PSUs, Regulatory Authorities, Boards, and even Universities continue unabated - both at Centre and in States.

The most interesting aspect of bureaucrats heading these PSUs is that there is hardly any accountability of these bureaucrats as they move on to some other assignment after their tenure at PSU or at any Authority – with contribution or without any contribution of any note. Due to job security, they can’t even be dismissed even if they take the PSU down into red during their tenure. Even after their retirements, they end up grabbing independent Director positions on Boards of PSUs. It is amazing to note that 35-40% of independent Directors on Boards of Maharatnas and Navratnas are retired bureaucrats today. Given the fact that many of these bureaucrat run, taxpayer supported PSUs are badly managed institutions with very poor corporate governance and many in red, such appointments on PSU Boards and of CEOs must be stopped. Bright and experienced professionals and domain experts should replace such generalist bureaucrats. PSUs have long been used as a parking lot for serving and retired bureaucrats and that policy needs to be reversed.

Interestingly, a bureaucrat (without adequate domain experience) even leads extremely functional, technical and expertise oriented Ministries in Centre and States - Ministry of Finance, Economic Affairs, Financial Services, Health, Telecom, IT, Defence, Law, Power, Public Enterprises, Highways, Shipping, Tourism, Textile, Industry and Commerce, Aviation, Oil and Gas, Environment and Forests, Agriculture, Disaster Management, etc. The fact of bureaucrats leading the welfare-oriented Ministries is understandable and logical but as Heads of Technical Ministries should be a big NO in these challenging, complex and daunting times. Allowing lateral entries of domain experts, professionals, academicians, researchers, etc. in bureaucracy especially at the top and middle levels at both Centre and Sates looks imminent now. No wonder, most of the developed nations have experts, professionals, senior members of academia and research organisations manning such Ministries at senior and also at middle levels in government there.

Governance can’t be good governance until it is enabled by optimal use of skills, systems, processes and technology for delivering efficient governmental services. The key drivers of efficiency in governmental services are convenience of interfacing with government, ease of use, simplicity of interaction and choice of alternative delivery channels. Technology is the key enabler behind these drivers. Efficiency, optimised processes and technology go hand in hand. With innovation, creativity, speed and ease of use, technology has gone on to change the way people live and work forever and it has the potential to revolutionise government functioning and outreach too. Unless power of technology is harnessed to the maximum, efficient delivery of governmental services and programs to the weakest in the chain will be a distant dream.

Digitisation, e-governance, operational resilience, departmental portals, online transactional services, customer relationship management, cheap access to reliable internet / web services / mobile services, data integrity and privacy, integration of databases and networks across governmental agencies, credible payment gateways, robust scheduling software, cyber security, etc. are some of the primary requirements for the current governance system to graduate to the next level. The priorities of overall ICT leverage will have to be set right. Powerful social media will have to be increasingly leveraged by government departments and agencies in order to enhance citizen engagement (through interaction and communication) and quality of government’s service delivery. The daunting challenge will be to get the bureaucracy moving in order to embrace new technology, to integrate various legacy platforms and databases – BPL, APL, Aadhar, Driving license, PAN, etc., to reduce IT infrastructure costs and to move the old age opaque outdated governance mechanism - from floppy disks, CDs, etc., onto the 21^st century new age technology platforms - cloud computing, mobile apps, etc.

Statutes and laws which have lost meaning and relevance in present times must be repealed in right earnest. Such archaic redundant laws are unwarranted burden on the governance structure and hamper its responsiveness and credibility in changing times. The laws and rules must reflect the liberalism and dynamism of changing realities on ground. Redundant and obsolete laws (and there are many in the system) that hold back bureaucratic functioning and delivery must be weeded out quickly. Colonial era laws which are in direct conflict with constitutionally guaranteed fundamental rights in independent India must go. All pre / post-independence statutes which breed secrecy in governance and inaccessibility of public need to be identified and be removed quickly. Bureaucracy must be working with laws which are in sync with the needs of this day and age. If bureaucracy has to deliver the desired goals, antiquated laws and rules will have to be removed from the system and be replaced with progressive, just and reasonable statutes and rules - enabling quick decision making, efficiency, effectiveness and compliance.

A paradigm shift is required to correctly position the concept of good governance in public administration to deliver results that the nation is looking for. For a rule of law based development and delivery oriented new age governance system, top focus will have to be on efficiency and management than merely on policy advice, on high levels of competence and public service, on high standards of responsiveness and performance, on high moral and ethical standards, on responsive citizen centric and facilitative approach, on flexibility and adaptability, on innovation and creativity, on information sharing and full accountability, on enhanced trust levels and confidence, on recognition and protection of rights and values in governance, on objective setting and outcome measurement, on timely rewards and punishment, etc. All of these will have to be brought into play for good governance to deliver the India that everybody is looking for. With a new decisive dispensation @Centre in place and kicking, time for incremental and cosmetic changes in governance will not suffice as the pace of proposed change is fast and exponential.

This great nation has lived and borne with poor archaic governance for long and is not at all ready to accept more of the same. Aspirational India of today has the required human capital, power and drive of youth, talent and education, natural resources, human enterprise and a decisive leadership at the helms to go all out for the desired outcome. What it needs is a paradigm shift towards a responsive, efficient and effective decision making governmental structure and processes in place to make it happen. This is really the nation’s calling today. The challenge is humongous but the time and space is right for such a move.

Disclaimer: These are my personal views

Swachh Patna, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan

2015-01-18T23:49:00.000-08:00

“Swachh Bharat Abhiyan” is a mass movement that seeks to effectively create a “Clean India”. A clean India that Gandhiji advocated for and dreamt of, for all of us. As PM Modi rightly said, we cannot pay a better tribute to our Bapu on his 150^th birth anniversary in 2019 – than fulfilling his unfulfilled dream of a clean India. It is time that we join hands in this noble cause and very critical initiative. It couldn't be a better time to get together and help build a clean and healthy India for ourselves and for our future generations.

Our beloved city of Patna certainly deserves to be in the forefront of this Swachhta campaign. As other cities and towns of this nation, Patna is stricken with the same cleanliness, hygiene, garbage, sanitation, waste management and corruption issues. Let’s be honest here. Despite Patna being the State capital, it remains one of the dirtiest State capitals that we know of. We all Patnaites know in our hearts of hearts, how badly, Patna needs to be a part of the Swachhta mission.

Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC) is almost a non-functional organisation as far as delivery on cleanliness, sanitation and waste management is concerned. As a community, we Patnaites have broadly failed too in our duties and responsibilities towards keeping our city clean.

So let’s roll up our sleeves and pledge to keep our homes and neighbourhoods, our schools and colleges, our offices and markets, our hospitals and clinics, our bus stands and our train stations, our streets and highways, etc. clean from this day onwards and give ourselves a clean Patna. This pledge and commitment of ours towards cleanliness and hygiene will not only go a long way in strengthening our public health but will also push our economic growth in general.

So friends, what are you waiting for? Become a proud volunteer and be an active participant in this noble mission of serving your city and your nation towards their transformation. As part of the “Swachh Patna, Swachh Bharat” campaign, let’s join hands and go out there and do our two cents to help make and keep our Patna and our nation clean.

Please feel free to come up with suggestions and ideas and let’s firm up a collaborative plan of action towards a sustainable cleanliness drive. Every voice is valuable here.

Planning Commission's Poverty line numbers - Where is the accountability?

2013-07-30T07:57:00.001-07:00

With his back to the wall now, Dr.Montek Singh Ahluwalia, the suave long-serving Dy.Chairman of Planning Commission has announced another review and revision of poverty line estimates. That being the case, what will happen to the expert committee under C.Rangarajan which has already been looking into the poverty estimation methodology since last year? Given the experience thus far, it isn't surprising at all. Montek Singh has been supervising a slew of flip-flop committees at Planning Commission for determination of poverty line methodology for a long time now. The Plan Panel Dy. Chief himself has been there at the helms since 2004.

It is now a well known fact that Dr.Montek Singh and his committees at Planning Commission have continued to throw absolutely ridiculous and bizarre poverty line numbers at the nation over these years despite the means and resources at their disposal. Remember, the Planning Commission’s (earlier) Tendulkar committee report which had drawn poverty line in 2009 at Rs.22.4 per day for rural areas and Rs.28.6 per day for urban areas. Even a renowned poverty expert like late Prof. Suresh Tendulkar couldn’t do justice to the job under the then dispensation at Planning Commission led by Dr.Montek Singh. After much hungama and widespread criticism across the nation then, the Planning Commission, had no option but to revise those numbers on a fresh basis - taking monthly average household consumption of a family of five. Even then, those revised numbers left a lot to be desired and were not found up to mark, to say the least.

No wonder various critical poverty reduction schemes and financial outlays - based upon such absurd poverty line numbers, have been yielding poor and unsatisfactory results. All this while, there has been complete ambiguity and incoherence over the subject at Planning Commission. Needless to add here the fact that there has been near total absence of accountability at Planning Commission as far as poverty line estimation is concerned in last eight - nine years. And this is no joke or a matter of irrelevance. No matter how much Montek Singh and his folks at Plan panel downplay or distance themselves from such a fiasco, they can't shrug off their inability and failure to deliver on their mandated task.

Needless to reiterate here that almost all poverty alleviation schemes and attached budgetary allocations including Five year Plan outlays for poverty alleviation are linked to the poverty line drawn by the Planning Commission. It also serves as the basis for metrics on poverty reduction over a period of time. Incorrect drawing of this poverty line means everything goes for a toss as far as government’s poverty alleviation interventions are concerned - be it the alleviation schemes and programs or the targeted beneficiaries, be it the budgetary outlays or the schemes’ overall implementation, be it the measurement of delivery performance or be it the status improvement of the poor and hungry.

It appears Dr.Montek Singh has managed to lose his sanity by being a bit too long on government subsidies of the highest order. Thanks to his proximity to the PM and his cabinet rank, he enjoys a plush office, free office and personal staff, highly subsidised bungalow in Lutyens Delhi, free vehicle, free driver, free personal staff, free electricity, free phone calls, free house maintenance, free air / train travel, umpteen free foreign junkets, almost free health care for life, etc. - all at the cost / burden of hapless taxpayer of this country. And why did the hardworking taxpayer bear all his cost thus far? So that Montek Singh, in an honest, diligent and dutiful manner, could work hard towards delivering what was right, accurate and just - enabling effective delivery of welfare programs to the most poor and hungry amongst the nation’s billion plus people.

Lo and behold!! Dr.Montek goes out there and belts out, yet again, absolutely obnoxious and appalling poverty line numbers of Rs.27 (rural areas) and Rs.33 (urban areas) a day as the nation’s poverty line thereby making a mockery of the most deprived, hungry and suffering amongst us by producing such heartless, shameless and mindboggling numbers. In this day and age, he thought, he could get away with such outrageous mocking at the abject deprivation of a majority of our fellow citizens who are waiting and seeking help -just to hold their body and souls together. He thought he could fool the nation one more time. But he couldn’t. Thankfully and rightfully so!!!

Clearly, this was a case where one didn’t have any clue about the hard and harsh realities on the ground – of the widespread poverty as it exists in India today nor had any kind of identification with or sensitivity towards the real issues of the poor and hungry amongst us. Just a couple of roses in the flower vase on his office table that his peon might be putting every morning for him would be costlier than Rs.27. Even his driver would be making more than Rs.5000 as monthly overtime - leave aside the driver’s monthly salary, benefits, health care, pension, PF, gratuity, etc. as a cost to the taxpayer.

As a side note, it is worthwhile to question what Dr.Montek Singh does every year at World Economic Forum, Davos and what quantifiable and qualitative results has he delivered out of such junkets and similar trips across the world - all at the cost of the hapless taxpayer. Davos is a place where people from all across the world - governments, business, civil society and other sectors engage and network to enhance confidence in their country’s governance, economic performance, infrastructure, trade and business performance, etc. and where they also discuss ways and means to address universal challenges of hunger, poverty, disease and education. Does Dr.Montek Singh talk about his ridiculous poverty line numbers in that august gathering? Not sure if he has ever. And hope he hasn’t as he would have shamed this nation every time he would have blurted out those inaccurate, appalling and ridiculous numbers before a world audience.

Let’s come straight to the point. And this is without taking anything away from otherwise impressive credentials of Dr. Montek Singh. Isn’t it surprising that the Plan Panel Dy.Chief has not yet been sacked by the Prime Minister? Dr.Montek Singh has been shamelessly holding on to his Chair despite such widespread backlash and opposition to his latest poverty line numbers - across the political spectrum. And this is not the first time. If that was not enough, he cut himself a sorry figure yet again when he came up with another set of absolutely flawed numbers on poverty reduction - a few days back. Such pathetic numbers have worsened things further. At a time, when the government was still taking a lot of heat from all corners, Dr.Montek Singh and his team, rubbing salt to the wounds, hurriedly threw another set of flawed and inaccurate numbers - this time on government's poverty reduction performance of last few years. Interestingly, such poverty reduction performance was based upon the already rejected poverty line numbers of erstwhile Tendulkar committee which the Planning Commission itself had rejected long time ago. Simply unbelievable stuff!! It clearly crossed all the heights of callousness, apathy and shamelessness.

Who bothers about the lost time in the life of nation and of its more disadvantaged people; who cares about the lost opportunities and its people falling behind; who takes into account the losses suffered on critical human development front; who cares about the loss of human capital for the nation’s future and who bothers about the overall loss to the nation and its people. At least, not the likes of Dr.Montek Singh and his folks at Plan panel - glorified cushioned occupants of plush air conditioned offices in Lutyen’s Delhi. It is critical that Dr.Montek and his ilk get it this time that the nation has moved on. This nation - especially its youth (a majority) will hold them accountable for every action of theirs and will take them to task. No more free lunches and free rides please for such public servants!! They can’t get away with such crap anymore.

All reports including the government’s show that the most poor and hungry amongst us have remained there where they were in relative economic terms. Quality of life for more than 70% remains where it used to be. The trickle-down effect of growth model is not working. Rapid growth of two decades may have brought some of us out of the clutches of poverty but the more important divide between the haves and have-nots has continued to widen over these years - reaching distressing proportions now.

Certainly, it's time for Dr.Montek Singh to step aside and let the Planning Commission have some fresh breeze of air. The longer he stays at Planning Commission, the more embarrassment he causes to the nation and to his supposedly key benefactor - the Prime Minister. Sense of responsibility and sacrifice, conscientious service / duty to the motherland, character, integrity and accountability are still the qualities that this nation values the most.

Mid-Day Meal Program - a comprehensive revamp could save the day

2013-07-23T03:46:00.000-07:00

Mid Day Meal Scheme - a unique and popular Program for the nation's poor and hungry kids has continued to be in news for all the wrong reasons for a long long time. This Program has been ridden with poor infrastructure, lack of trained personnel, poor quality of food, lack of hygiene, very little monitoring, absence of accountability, poor community participation, zero social audits, large scale corruption, etc. In some areas the Program is yet to take off even after twelve years for lack of proper infrastructure such as ingredients storage area, cooking aids, cooking area and personnel. No wonder news trickling in of kids falling sick after MDMS food consumption have continued to trickle in from several parts of the country. And now the worse has started happening : kids have started dying from such food. The last week's horror in Chapra appears to be the last nail in the coffin as far as MDMS's functional/operational credibility is concerned.

The government's apathy towards the Scheme's implementation has run in for too long now and the rot that has set in during this period is now very deep. For course correction and reinforcements, Quality Assurance (QA) appears to be one of the critical areas (proper infrastructure, meaningful community participation, sytemic accountability, etc. may be the others) that needs a comprehensive review and revamp under Mid-Day Meal Scheme (MDMS) at both State and Central levels. QA in this Program needs to be relooked at from an absolutely fresh perspective. The devil is in the detail. The more detailed and drilled down are the processes the better considering that health and human lives are really on stake here.

To the extent possible, MDMS's QA processes need to be standardised, clearly defined, documented, complied with, reported in time and be continuously improved. QA revamp, here, needs to include all processes/sub-processes and timelines critical to successful execution of the Program along with clearly defined and assigned roles and responsibilities of personnel/agencies involved. The QA process should also include standardised reporting (MIS) of the job done on a daily/weekly basis for collating data and for ensuring compliance. The documented standardised processes must clearly address what, where and how the sub-processes e.g. ingredients sourcing / storing / cooking / feeding / quality sampling of raw ingredients-finished food / cleaning / housekeeping in cooking area / hygiene maintenance by personnel and kids / serving of food / maintenance of utensils, equipments, cooking aids, feeding wares / etc., are to be carried out.

Another essential component of the QA document would be the clearly defined daily food menu, quality specifications for raw ingredients, standard recipes with defined usage quantities of ingredients per unit weight of food, standardised specifications for the storage, kitchen and feeding areas - infrastructure, cooking equipments/utensils, feeding wares, etc.  periodicity of quality checks (which needs to be daily in any case), standards of hygiene, required skill level, training and retraining of personnel involved, etc.

A key section of the QA will include clearly defined and assigned roles and responsibilities of personnel and agencies involved in carrying out the sourcing, sampling tasks, storing, quality checks, cooking and feeding, cleaning and hygiene maintenance, periodic reporting and analysis, monitoring, compliance, grievance redressal, social audit and course correction. Roles and responsibilities section will include who will do what and in what time will the tasks have to be done. For standardised performance measurement of personnel involved, uniform parameters and targets – both quantitative and qualitative would have to be defined as an important aspect of this QA process. The annual standardised assigned qualitative and quantitative targets for the personnel, agencies, officials and community members in committees involved in implementation and monitoring of this scheme could form the other important area of this MDMS QA process.

A standardised but simplified complaint filing and feedback mechanism (along with something akin to a whistle blower policy that is easy to understand and operate by the beneficiaries - parents, students and community members will also have to be inbuilt into the QA process wherein the parents, students and community members can file their complaints without fear, delay and any complexity. A single window, time-bound, well disseminated, grievance/complaint redressal mechanism with earmarked officials and assigned responsibilities to address such issues within a given time frame will also have to be a part of this mechanism.

Well defined monitoring, controlling and corrective action processes along with clearly defined penalties and other consequences against non-performance, non-compliance and dereliction of duty by the government officials involved (across the chain of command) in this process would form the other sections of the QA of this Scheme. Non-performance of assigned responsibilities by members from public and civil society in monitoring committee would also have to be defined and included in the remaining part of QA process. Lastly, code of ethics will have to be relooked and redefined in this whole process to bring in a certain sense of propriety, confidence and integrity.

It will serve well if clearly defined investigation and enquiry process - limited to the scope of this MDMS Program with appropriate timelines attached to it is also included as a part of the overall QA process. This section must include who and how the enquiry will be conducted and in what time and also affix accountability of the personnel involved in this process. Given the specific nature of this Program where human lives and health are at stake, punishments can not be of routine nature. The penal clauses must be stringent and decisive (upto dismissal from service) against defaulting and non-compliant officials. This would not only ensure accountability of personnel involved in administering of this scheme but also act as a deterrent against omissions and commissions.

All in all, standardising specifications and processes, plugging the gaping holes, removing ambiguities, assigning defined roles and responsibilities, setting timelines and achievable milestones, ensuring compliance, using information technology in managing the overall process and holding officials accountable are some important interventions required to bring this scheme back on track. Of course, QA is just one part to strengthen the delivery of MDMS that is doable and deliverable within a given time frame. Larger linked issues of political will, reform and restructuring in bureaucracy, tightening of institutional delivery mechanism, public participation in governance, community oversight, transparency and accountability are the other things to need to be addressed as well.

It appears that some in the bureaucracy believe and are resigned to the fact that such possible collateral damage may continue to happen under the present scheme of things, given the scale and expanse of MDMS, illiteracy and ignorance amongst the poor, severe resource constraints, poor delivery structure / mechanism, political interference, etc. After all, this is a mammoth program. What more can the bureaucracy and officials do. But the moot question remains….is welfare scheme’s delivery and its successful implementation somebody else’s baby?? Who has signed up for planning, deciding, controlling and/or delivering the same? Who gets paid by the hard working taxpayer for ensuring and delivering of goods and services to the poor amongst them?

The nature, structure, challenges, compensation, etc. that go with a government service is all in the public domain and is known to every new joinee before he or she decides to join any government service. Still people line up, compete, willingly join the services and pledge to serve the nation as a matter of personal choice and pride. And this is great by the way. Later, if some of them find the task of delivering services too ominous and too burdensome to handle with political interference and sytemic ills adding to their woes, then, it is better for them to step aside (as many conscientious do) than holding on to it and not being able to contribute. Else, how would one justify remaining in service and continuing to enjoy the compensation and perks without delivering?

Today, the governance structure in our country treats both – a hero and a zero, alike. Comprehensive reform and restructuring must address this issue by introducing widely accepted performance enhancing tools such as mutual realistic goal setting, objective performance measurement on quantifiable and qualitative targets, system of rewards / recognition and punishment to encourage performance, and so on and so forth. Moreover, the remnants of colonial past and its hangover over bureaucracy needs to go because it no more serves the interests of British masters and presides over the natives here. The natives of then are the sovereign and masters of today. The bureaucracy is there to serve and not to rule in the name of colonial rulers as in the past. The governance structure has to reflect the distinction between those times and today. The governance structure and system must reflect the present day reality of our democratic polity.

As such, the governance system in its present form has little or no accountability on the ground. Whether delivering to people’s satisfaction or not delivering at all, the system allows one to retain the employment along with the compensation and perks - all at the cost and burden of hardworking taxpayers. The time has come to ask such non-performing officials to step aside, to look for some easy jobs elsewhere and to let the capable and the doers within the system or outside to step in and start delivering, as the nation is on the move. It can’t wait anymore.

Just the other day, one of the panellists - incidentally a retired IAS officer and a woman (with all due respect) on a Karan Thapar show on CNN-IBN channel had this to say as her last word….”more horror stories will continue but Mid-Day Meal Scheme must continue.” This retired bureaucrat had the audacity to make such an atrocious comment on a national channel. Did she really know what she was talking about? I am sure she did…. that such horror stories involve possible deaths of our innocent young children. Unbelievable!!

To some it may sound a fairly realistic reflection of the present day reality. Agreed, MDMS is a great interventional Program to address malnutrition of children and school enrolment issues and it MUST continue but such horrifying incidents will also continue to happen??? With all due respects, Sorry Ma’am, this is completely unacceptable. Absolutely NOT!! Not anymore. Things need to be delivered. We are not living in 70s and 80s anymore. India has moved on.

Well, would she have dared to comment like this if there was even an iota of a possibility of any of her loved ones losing his or her life by consuming such a meal served under MDMS in the school? Would she have bothered to even send her child or grandchild to that school even if there was a small hint of such a risk? Not the least, obviously!! But she expects the poor villager to send his or her kid to school and consume the MDM food irrespective of the possible dangers of doing so in the present scheme of things.

However, this also sums up the present day state of affairs of such Schemes/Programs and also sums up the present day reality of how some in the bureaucracy and in governance structure approach welfare delivery with little or no regard for even possible loss of precious life/lives of the poor and hungry. This is really the malaise in the system…the attitude, the approach and the stark apathy. This nation has to rid of such a systemic malaise sooner rather than later. Accepting the fact that many in the bureaucracy do not subscribe to the ridiculous view of this retired bureaucrat but what if this particular officer (being an IAS officer) or her ilk was at the helm of affairs – responsible for MDMS implementation - either in the State or at Centre today.

Would any government, today, in the East West have carried on with such a welfare scheme ridden with such gaping holes and such inherent accompanying risks/dangers? Would any sensible mind advise the government to carry on with this welfare scheme in its present state of affairs and then wait for such horror stories to strike us at some location or the other??

If knowledge and awareness exists in the government that there is a possible risk of even one loss of life anywhere in the country under this Scheme implementation, then no matter what, it would not be prudent for the government/s to carry on with this Scheme in its current avatar. Wouldn’t it be a sensible thing to take a short breath here, to move a few steps back, to put the scheme on temporary hold, to reflect and do some introspection, to accept past mistakes, to go for a time bound review, to apply the learning from such mistakes, to identify issues and gaps, to bring the concerned players on board with required sense of ownership, to restructure the MDMS organisation, to re-engineer processes and systems, to revamp the delivery infrastructure - all within a pre-determined time frame (as hunger doesn’t wait much) and driven by a marked sense of urgency.

It would then make sense to restart this unique Scheme which would have eliminated potential risks and dangers of the past by then and which would also then be supported by a stable and robust delivery mechanism in place, ably supported by a trained and informed workforce, proper infrastructure –tools, equipments, space, etc., and aided by a guiding standards of desired performance on the ground. This would ensure much better results in field that can help be a great trust and confidence building tool between the people and the governance apparatus which is so necessary for achieving the objectives of this MDM scheme.

As such, there is news trickling in from different corners of the country of school kids refusing to eat Mid-Day meals served in their schools considering the risks involved. In some cases, there are reports of parents even withdrawing their kids from the schools as a preventive step. Isn’t it time to for people at the top in government set the ball rolling without losing any more time, get everybody concerned on board and initiate the MDMS review/revamp on a war footing right away? There is no scope left for any delay. Let’s hope and pray they do it today because the poor little hungry kids are waiting for their meal. For millions hungry, a mid-day meal at school is the only food they have for the day.

Time for a new development lingo - where good economics becomes more humane and local

2013-07-23T03:27:00.001-07:00

Despite seven decades of Independence and freedom, a reasonably free economy for the past two decades and a period of rapid and continuous GDP growth durng these two decades, India is still not able to feed and provide some of the most basic amenities to more than fifty percent of its citizens. It is disturbing to note that this country hasn't been able to provide a dignified existence to more than half its population even after two decades of an above average economic growth. Specificallly, India is today lagging behind even countries like Bhutan and Bangladesh (much poorer countries) on some key human development indicators like life expectancy at birth, infant mortality, immunization for one year olds, etc. Harsh realities on the ground must be accepted now with an open mind. Economic growth is extremely important, otherwise, where would the revenue come from. So that part of the debate stands settled. Economic growth and productivity are a must.

Another reality in this country is that the ever growing divide between the haves and haves-not has gone unchecked for long (knowingly or unknowingly) and has now reached alarming proportions despite such good growth numbers attained over the last two decades. NSSO's and many other reports - based on empirical evidence, have and would support the asserion here, given the realities on the ground, that the rich-poor divide has widened despite a long period of rapid growth. Reasons are very many and some are complex too. However, the overall situation eventually appears to be a case of too many lost opportunities and too much of young nation's time.

A nation which continues to leave behind a majority of its people (large percentage of that left-out group would certainly be youth) from this growth process just cannot have sustainable growth, prosperity and peace (probably) over a long period of time. The nation is bound to flounder and fall behind at some point in time, if the present course is not corrected in a decisive manner. Hence, the need to democratise and humanise growth and development and achieve that optimum balance. And, therefore, the time has come for India to redefine the way growth and development numbers are looked at, measured, analysed and consumed in this country today. An open mind, fresh and innovative approach, political will, and a consensus over the approach to the subject appears to be the need of the hour.

It makes sense now to bring the paradigm of humane and local element into play in the way we look at economic growth/development performance of the nation. This cannot anymore be restricted to just the economic parameters like GDP, growth rate, per capita income, savings rate, exim growth rates, industrial productivity, forex reserves, trade deficit, fiscal deficit, monetary/currency health, and so on so forth. Development economist and Nobel laureate Amartya Sen is right when he says India is still far from ensuring equity, achieving balanced growth and removing wide ranging and massive deprivations still existing in Indian society. He rightfully points out that India has actually been falling behind on several critical social indicators with respect to other developing economies. Given the realities as they exist today, there is definitely a case to reflect, to soul search, and to do a reality check.

As proof of pudding lies in eating it, the true meaning behind traditional growth/development numbers really lies in whether such high sounding numbers have a direct/indirect connect or an impact over the daily lives of common man at the grassroot level - especially of the hungry and poor, or not. The key lies in looking at whether the rate of economic growth matches the rate of quantitative and qualitative improvement in the daily life of the last man/woman standing in the line and not just of the "middle class" and whether that economic growth has widened the gap between rich and poor or reduced it.

It appears the trickle-down effect model of growth hasn't done much much to the lives of the majority of the billion plus - the most poor, hungry and ignorant of us appear to have been critically left behind in this process of rapid growth over the last twenty years. Time has arrived for India to start taking into account the overall health of the nation - incorporating actual development and performance on economic, human, social, environment, technology and innovation fronts into the overall performance to attain a holistic and inclusive picture of growth and development in this country and thereby - of the nation’s progress. The development lingo in our country actually needs a rejig and a revamp now.

With more than a century of experience of the developed world and having closely observed the last two decades of rapid GDP growth here in India (with some of the newly crowned bilionaires of the world being home grown now), it appears economic growth, by itself, has failed, in many ways, to "pull up" a satisfactory number of poor and hungry from levels of poverty in the way it should have had. The data shows that governmental welfare and intervention programs (notwithstanding their own ills have been largely instrumental in pushing sections of our poor out of abject poverty. Empirical data shows that the redistributive efforts of the government seem to have worked and have made the impact (albeit short of what they should have been) in removing deprivation than the growth per se. It is interesting note that in times of economic slowdown and growth rate diving to sub five percent, government latest numbers indicate that rate of poverty reduction has gone up. So the linkage between pure economic growth and poverty reduction on the ground looks disjointed to say the least. A serious disconnect seems to exist there.

Let's look at United States - the world's biggest economy, a benchmark and a gold standard, in many ways, for developing economies across the world and including ours. Quoting Wikipedia, "with the poverty level at $23,050 (total yearly income) for a family of four in 2012, it is estimated that most Americans (58.5%) will spend at least one year below the poverty line at some point in time - between the ages 25 and 75.Poverty rates are persistently higher in rural and inner city parts of the country as compared to suburban areas." Per Wikipedia, the U.S. Census Bureau, in November 2012, informed that more than 16% of the population lived in poverty in the United States, including almost 20% of American children - highest level since 1993. In 2011, extreme poverty in the United States, meaning households living on less than $2 per day before government benefits, was double 1996 levels at 1.5 million households, including 2.8 million children. In 2011, child poverty reached record high levels, with 16.7 million children living in food insecure households, about 35% more than 2007 levels.In 2009 the number of people who were in poverty was approaching 1960s levels that led to the national War on Poverty.

More importantly, today, a staggering 47.8 million i.e. 15 percent of the US population receives food stamp benefits, nearly double the rate of 1975. The US Department of Agriculture informs that 47.79 million people were enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in December, 2012. "We spend a trillion dollars each year on federal poverty programs. That’s more than the budget for Social Security or Defense,” “But poverty seems only to increase. Something is wrong. Compassion demands that we change.", said Sen. Jeff Sessions, the ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee, during one of his weekly addresses.

Therefore, we at home also need to do some serious rethinking with due open mindedness on the way we look at development numbers. Rather than focusing all energies on enhancing indicators like GDP, national income, per capita income, growth rate and ilk, it’s time to develop a more rounded and holistic orientation to the overall growth and development perspective. Efforts should be made to make these numbers less skewed, less superficial, more realistic, more rational, more logical, more broad-based, rooted more in realities on the ground besides keeping a laser like focus on the “human dimension” and to the “domestic/local context”.

I believe it will make sense to collect data and measure performance on above parameters in critical areas of healthcare, education, nutrition, income distribution, real employment, gender discrimination, depth of poverty (how far are poor away from poverty line) and just poverty alone, continued access to basic amenities (like safe drinking water, hygienic sanitation, electricity, pucca housing and primary healthcare), infrastructure creation, and others. Devising and incorporating metrics on the delivery of a basket of critical and important welfare schemes/services and infrastructure projects in the above mentioned areas will add a lot of credibility to the growth/development numbers. Because “whatever gets measured gets done”.

For instance, the government could go ahead and incorporate some of these: percentage of population below poverty line, functional literacy rate, school enrolment ratio, school drop-out rates, percentage of students starting Class 1 who reach Class 5, average schooling years of the population, girls to boys ratio in education, life expectancy, infant and maternal mortality rate, percentage of infants immunised, percentage of underweight and malnourished children and anaemic mothers, percentage of births at hospitals/nursing homes/health centres, death rate due to diseases (TB/HIV/Malaria), access to safe portable drinking water, access to hygienic and respectable sanitation, female-male ratio, percentage of women in wage and skilled employment, number of skilled and unskilled jobs created, slum population as percentage of urban populace, mobile/internet/computer penetration per 100 persons, per capita energy use, per capita CO2 emissions, per capita consumption of chloro-flouro carbons, forest to land area, number of new technologies and innovations operationalized to fruition – e.g. clean fuel, energy saving/efficiency, modern irrigation, water conservation, manufacturing, etc., by assigning their appropriate weightages into the overall growth and development number calculations.

Hope there are ways to capture the data enabling calculation of such performance metrics in social services, welfare delivery, education, health and environment sectors. Surely, development economists and statisticians would figure a way out to do so if the nation needs it. It is quite possible that data in many of these areas are available and are already being collected by different agencies -within the government and outside. It is also quite possible that some of these suggested metrics may still get hard to quantify and capture in a meaningful way due to the complexities involved and therefore, those could be left out of consideration for now. However, the number crunching on the most critical ones looks no rocket science to attempt and to achieve. It is just that the government needs to gather enough political will and apply its mind and resources to get going on this. Needless to reiterate the old adage...."whatever gets measured gets done"....... for the positives of such a move are wide ranging and many.

Let's roll up our sleeves and find out where do we actually stand today and then prepare for the road ahead. Time is running out. Not only our poor and hungry are waiting for help but the world is looking at us to show the new way to make it a better place to live and thrive..

Test squad for Australia series - leaves a lot to be desired

2013-02-10T11:18:00.001-08:00

The Test team for Australia series has been announced. Looks like another round of patchy and predictable work by the selectors.....

They rightly dropped Gambhir after giving an undeservedly long rope to him. Credit is due to them for taking this much awaited decision - albeit a highly delayed one. Gambhir has 360 runs at an average of 30 in his last 12 Test innings with zero century and just two fifties to his name. Sehwag has 450 runs in his last 12 Test innings at an average of 37 with one hundred and only one fifty to his name. BCCI's current favourite - Ashwin has 14 wickets in his last 8 Test innings with a best of 3 for 80. Ishant has 18 wickets in his last 18 Test innings with a best of 3 for 49. Both of them have to really step up against the likes of Clarke, Warner, Watson, etc. if they have to go to South Africa after this home series. By the way, the next four Test series of India are on foreign soil.

For want of credible options, Harbhajan looks the best bet to either replace Ashwin or join him in the team as the other spin option? Even today, he appears to be a more skillful off-spinner than Ashwin. Bhajji has the guile, the skill and the experience to exploit any pitch condition and he is certainly not a spent force...no way. In the recent Irani Cup, Bhajji appeared to be regaining his rhythm, confidence and form for which he is known for. Hope Bhajji gets back to his menacing best by Feb22nd to trouble Clarke and his boys. India needs Bhajji – the fighter, to fire full throttle against the Aussies.

Murali Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan - the two who got the nod ahead of Jaffer, simply seem to have got lucky. How about taking a look at the consistency and first class (akin to Tests) performance of these three claimants during 2012-13 season to back their claims for the Test opener spot. Jaffer made 1016 runs in 13 innings (80, 19, 79, 71, 18, 67, 171, 150, 33, 15, 132, 80 and 101*) with 3 centuries and 5 half centuries at a fantastic average of 85. In comparison, M.Vijay has 289 runs in 10 innings (15, 0, 17, 3, 13, 42, 24, 24, 116 and 35) with one century and no half century at a dismal average of 29 and Shikhar Dhawan has 524 runs in 13 innings (22, 55, 30, 104, 8, 32, 38, 13, 13, 116, 30, 63 and 0) with one century and one fifty at an average of 44. The fact of the matter lies in the performance and abilities gap between Jaffer and the next best option - Dhawan towards the Test opener slot. Clearly, this also speaks about the lack of young quality players in the talent pool/pipeline.

Jaffer - with his class, temperament, commitment and this year’s performance backing him up would have simply walked into the India Test XI. The solidity and stability that Jaffer would have provided at the top of the order is not an option available with either M.Vijay or Shikhar Dhawan. Lo and behold, selectors had the audacity to leave him out, one more time. It was time they had done justice to his talent, class, commitment and hard work. Wish they hadn’t ignored atleast his last few innings - especially the two Irani Cup innings and the one in Ranji Final. For sure, he has looked in total command over his art/game during the last few years. Yes, at 35, he is in the same age bracket of Sehwag and five years younger than the genius - SRT himself. But what has age got to do with it,so long,one can deliver at the highest level. Jack Hobbs made 100+ first class centuries after his 40th birthday. Of course, that was another era and a different time altogether.

Hope and pray the selected openers -Vijay and Dhawan, get lucky against the likes of Siddle, Starc and Johnson and do well Down Under. And, then, these openers and the Team faces the troika of Steyn, Morkel and Philander in South Africa, on their tracks. Hope the selectors kept all of this in mind before giving nod to these two gentlemen.

Rahane - with sound technique and temperament, has rightly been picked for his prolific record in domestic cricket, He surely deserves a look in at No.6 in Tests. For that matter, S.Badrinath and Md.Kaif - who have been waiting in the wings for long, and are the other perennial contenders – if at all Rahane doesn’t click on the tour, for some reason. However, team management must place full confidence in Rahane, He deserves an extended run there to prove his credentials. In any case, Aussie bowlers will make sure Rahane is tested to the hilt and he will be baptised by fire. Hope he delivers up to his talent and promise. This would also open up the options - in likelihood of the Master deciding to retire from Tests in near future.

Raina - not picked for the Test team, looks a right decision. He is a proven ODI and T20 performer. But he is yet not there as far as Tests are concerned, especially when the opposition is the level of Australian pace battery and when the next Test opposition is of the quality of South African fast bowlers on their own pitches.

Bhuvanesh Kumar has been a revelation in ODIs and the renowned art of swing bowling is back in reckoning because of him. Hope he will continue his superb form in Tests and will surprise the quality Aussie batting line up. He surely deserved a Test cap and a decent run there.

Ravindra Jadeja, albeit a certainty in ODIs, didn’t merit a place in the Test team. He doesn’t appear to have the technique, skill and class for a Test No.6 batsman and especially when India has some far more skillful and better equipped options - sitting on the fringes of Indian Team. As a left arm bowling option, I would always prefer a pure specialist (Bhajji or Ojha) in Tests in place of a part-timer Jadeja. Justifying his inclusion in Test XI for team balance appears to be a bogey here. Jadeja - for his accuracy, suits the shorter formats and his place is there. Wonder what extra consideration made the selectors choose him ahead of some better options. Ojha - the highest wicket taker of recent England series certainly merits a place in the Test XI - at least on the dust bowl domestic tracks.

Struggling Ashwin and Ishant are the other two names who once again find themselves lucky. Ashwin needed to go back to domestic cricket to enhance his skills, develop the right line and some variety and improve his fitness. International batsmen appear to have gotten used to his predictable pause before bowling and also to his carrom ball. Without the help of a crumbling, dusty, turning Indian tracks, Ashwin looks a Ranji level offie. Unless Ashwin improves his off stump line and required guile in his armoury, he also won't have the desired success on tracks abroad. Having said that, luck may still smile on both Jadeja and Ashwin and they may find themselves amongst some wickets on our unprepared, turning, helpful, dust bowl tracks but will that be a long term stable solution to the team's spin problems at hand.

Ishant on the other hand, despite having the talent, the speed and ample chances in all formats of the game doesn't seem to have grown enough as a bowler. Lack of consistency, variation, discipline, and dependability remain perennial issues with him. And this is all Ishant has delivered thus far with solid 45+ Tests behind him till date. He, again, has been simply lucky to have gotten these number of chances - be it on account of injury issues to other pacers or due to lack of enough talent in the pool. But this cannot go on forever. Ishant would have to get his acts together and raise his bar or else the clamour for his ouster is bound to grow louder. He will surely do himself a favour by taking the Ashwin prescription, soon.

Ashok Dinda’s name - ahead of Sreesanth and Shami Ahmed, was somewhat surprising. With Umesh Yadav, Varun Aaron and Irfan Pathan in the current injured list, options for selectors were limited though. However, Sreesanth, despite his no-balls and inconsistencies, has some wicket taking ability and that could have been a plus for the side in case Ishant failed in the first Test. Shami, with his disciplined pace in the range of 135-140 kmph and with a decent performance (in the recent ODI series against England) backing him up, could also have been a better option than Dinda.

And no Ishwar Pandey in the team?? He looks an outstanding and genuine talent. Natural clean action, ability to make good use of his height and more importantly, the ability to swing both ways along with good control over line and length catapulted him to this season’s highest wicket taker in Ranji Trophy. A stint with national Test team would have done wonders for his confidence, exposure and learning. However, he has time and will get his chances. Pandey would do no harm to his deeds if he adds a few yards to his pace and the rest should follow. Hope he is nurtured well and taken care of by BCCI.

Following the norm of mediocrity in India's cricketing selection matters, yet again, a number of questionable decisions defying rationale can, therefore, be clearly seen in the mix picked for upcoming Test series. Overall, this was a very average job by the Selectors. The forthcoming series provided a great opportunity for selectors to plug in the gaps and bring in the desired balance. Ignoring the present, one just can't have an eye on future all the time. One has to have an eye on the present too to achieve that right balance. This could have been achieved by allowing a mix of experienced seniors and a bunch of youngsters some good time on the field and a chance to be amongst some wickets and runs, before they left for South African shores. Hope better sense and strategy prevails while selecting the Team for the last two Tests of the Aussie series.The yardstick of selectors for doing a good job at it is not in the naming of absolute certainties - as those names select themselves, but in selecting the replacements and the fringe players. The right mix of experience and youth and the optimal balance can only be arrived if one has an eye on both the present and the future.

Footnote:

Shikhar Dhawan – based on his temperament, first class numbers and current form, definitely merits a look in at the top of the order in ODIs and T20s - in place of Sehwag. Ambati Rayudu - for his hard work and potential, deserves a chance in ODIs and T20 teams. Rayudu appears to have the right attitude and looks ready for the shorter versions. Manoj Tiwary is another one who (if fit) deserves a longer run in the ODI and T20 squads. Ishwar Pandey - for his sheer talent and potential, may also be given a chance in ODIs, sooner than later. International exposure will provide him a world of confidence and a great learning experience.

The Fix for Indian Cricket - Answers lie within

2013-02-06T14:48:00.001-08:00

The reality check…

With greats like Dravid and Laxman now gone, genius Sachin on his way out and talented but fading Zaheer almost at the end of his career, BCCI and its zone based selectors have an enormous task at their hands to continue replenishing Team India with appropriate talent in all three formats of the game. Their immediate job at hand is to arrest the decline and make renewed efforts towards a quick turnaround in the Team’s fortunes which could be sustained over time. Glaring non-performance of some of the seniors / front line players over a long period of time and selectors blatantly looking the other way despite continued Test defeats - both abroad and at home, have further compounded the problems. Besides this, a number of other unanswered questions on account of systemic and symptomatic issues, mismanagement and ‘chalta hai’ attitude within the guarded BCCI system - remain to be firmly dealt with and addressed. More importantly, in recent times, BCCI’s incoherent approach, apathy and 'care a damn' attitude towards finding credible transparent solutions to its chronic problems has certainly left a lot to be desired. No wonder, BCCI's affairs have left cricket lovers and followers around the country and the world - simply baffled, to say the least.

For instance, Gambhir has 225 runs in his last 9 ODI innings at a dismal average of 25 with just two fifties. He has 360 runs at an average of 30 in his last 12 Test innings with zero century and just two fifties to his name. He really has had a long rope and his place in the team is untenable and cannot be justified by any means.

Sehwag has 248 runs in his last 11 ODI innings at a miserable average of 22 with just one fifty to his name. He has 450 runs in his last 12 Test innings at an average of 37 with one hundred and only one fifty to his name. His talent is undeniable and his Test record is unenviable and fantastic. Being a senior batsman at the top of the order, Sehwag needs to play responsibly and cannot take his position in the Test team for granted any more.

Sachin has 221 runs in his last 13 Test innings with no century and just one fifty against his name. This stands nowhere in comparison to the glorious record of this most prolific and complete batsman of all time. The Master Blaster says he will continue to play until he enjoys the game. Well, thanks a lot Master for all your superlative contributions until now but then how about shoring up the Team’s sinking fortunes from here on? Who else should be doing it if not you the Champion? Else, it's time to perhaps make way and walk down the sunset gracefully.

Zaheer has 12 wickets in his last 11 Test innings with not even one three wicket haul to his name and has only 15 wickets in his last 12 ODIs with a best of 2 for 39. Unless he sheds his extra kilos, gets back into shape with required fitness, gets his rhythm back and gains some extra yards in his bowling, the road is almost ending for him now.

Dhoni's favourite - Ashwin has 14 wickets in his last 8 Test innings with a best of 3 for 80 and has 24 wickets in his last 20 ODI innings at a very poor economy rate in both formats of the game. His best figures have been 3 for 39 over all these innings. It appears, his limited skills finally stand exposed at the highest level and international batsmen seem to have almost sorted him out. Unless Ashwin - who, seems to have a sharp mind over his shoulders, quickly develops better bowling discipline, adds the required variations and wily deceptions in his skills armoury, starts attacking off stump line more often, and improves his fitness and fielding, his place in Team India could be in seriously threat soon. Ashwin needs to quickly learn to take wickets on batsmen friendly tracks - especially on tracks abroad. He shows glimpses of some technique in his batting too. If he could work on his batting and start chipping in with some valuable runs in the lower order he could serve the Team and his place in the Team, well. Else, his international career could be marred sooner than later. Perhaps, going back to basics and a rigorous stint in domestic cricket and help from likes of Erapalli Prasanna could help him iron out the deficiencies and help him build the required skill set armoury.

Ishant has 18 wickets in his last 18 Test innings with a best of 3 for 49 and has only 21 wickets in his last 17 ODI innings with a best of 3 for 34. The talent is there but the application and growth as a bowler has, sadly, been lacking. Ishant has not improved as a bowler as he should have been. And he has been super lucky - given the number of chances he has got which normally have not been afforded to others in the recent past. Ishant also needs to go back to domestic cricket and get his act together.

Let’s accept it…

It is one thing to hit the peak of ICC rankings and it is another to hold on to that position over an extended period over time. The bad news is that from the No.1 Test team in the world not very long ago, Team India is now struggling to regain its No.5 position. The Team seems to have completely lost its bearing since it lost the Test series Down Under and has continued to suffer losses since then - one after the other including the recently concluded home series against England. The good news is that Team India has just scaled the No.1 ODI spot in ICC rankings - riding on the back to back wins in the two ODIs against a severely depleted England team which didn’t have the likes of Jimmy Anderson or a Graeme Swann or a Stuart Broad or a Jonathan Trott or even a Monty Panesar. And then it went back to its losing ways by ceding the last ODI of the Series back to England.

It would be interesting to find out how long Team India will be able to hold on to its No.1 ODI ranking. As things stand today, it is unlikely that the Team will be able to hold on to it for long. No, this is not a cynical or pessimistic view. Rather, it is an objective assessment. The reasons are clear albeit a little complex. Woeful form of openers, serious issues in bowling department (both pace and spin), inexperience of younger batsmen, technical deficiencies, fitness and injury issues, not playing to one’s potential, rivalries and tension within the Team, ignoring of non-performance by BCCI selectors, non-availability of ready talent as replacements, etc. haven’t helped the situation. Quite frankly, the Team in its present composition, simply doesn’t have the wherewithal to be the No.1 team in the world on a consistent basis in any of the three formats. It will be of interest to watch how long Team India is able to retain the top spot in ODI format - albeit every Indian cricket fan hopes and prays that it does. Perhaps, the T20 Team, at best, could languish at No.3 in rankings provided it doesn’t slip down any further from here.

Rankings aside, under the current scheme of things at BCCI, Team India clearly seems to be suffering from a combination of shortsighted view, lack of vision, tokenism and ad-hoc decision making. Some chronic and glaring ills have gone untreated or have been arrogantly ignored by BCCI for long. It is one thing to commercialise the game, spread its popularity across the country and beyond its borders, rake in the resulting mullah in millions of dollars from broadcasting rights and sponsorships, and build the world’s richest cricket body out of BCCI (all of this looks great by the way and credit must be given to BCCI where it is due) but it is another to establish a (talent) harnessing, thriving, sustainable, robust, fair, transparent and accountable cricketing structure across the length and breadth of the country. It is one thing to build a billion dollar brand like IPL out of exhibitionist T20 games but is another to credibly and professionally manage cricket affairs with a long term vision and thereby achieve consistent high class results and success in international cricketing arena. No commercial success in sport is worth its import unless there is a robust structure, established processes and a professional organization in place to spot, nurture and develop talent to feed and complement the popular commercialization of sport in an optimal, transparent and efficient way. What a shame that India today has more than 40+ stadiums (which is fantastic by any standards) for hosting international matches - perhaps the most in the world and also boasts of world's richest cricketing body but has never held the top Test or ODI ranking beyond a few months despite the riches and a potential talent pool of hundreds of thousands. Team India lost its top Test ranking in just a matter of few months in 2012. The reasons were pretty apparent.

Elements of hard work, equal opportunity, competition, fairness, integrity, recognition/reward against performance, professionalism and a passionate national spirit form the core principles and ethos of any national sports body. BCCI - the nation’s apex cricketing body still doesn’t spell out a compelling vision, or a clear stated purpose, or well defined time-bound achievable goals along with a sound and holistic execution plan with defined time bound milestones - to develop and promote cricket across the country keeping regional balance in mind. People at the helms in the Board don't yet appear to come to terms with understanding and acceptance of the present systemic ills and gaps which ail their organization and which drag down Indian cricket every now and then. The much needed robust, multi-tiered, functional and accountable cricketing structure, transparent and responsible governance mechanism and professional management of the same - hierarchically spread across cities, towns and districts, continue to be talked about in circles and circles but don’t ever see the light of the day. BCCI enjoys unbelievable resources, autonomy, functional independence, resourcefulness and clout at its command. Its continued apathy and its unwillingness to move away from chalta-hai approach, tokenism and ad-hocism and its inability to fix long standing critical cricketing issues towards carving out a well-oiled cricketing apparatus that this country needs, is frankly, a bit beyond comprehension.

BCCI’s actions over the last decade or so have more or less followed a very predictable path and the Board seems to be stuck in some kind of a time warp. The organization continues to function in an opaque and regressive fashion and continues to be run by a small but select coterie or nexus of well - connected politicians, bureaucrats and businessmen. The same names - Pawar, Bindra, Dalmia, Srinivasan, Muthaiah, Scindia, Shukla, Sawant, Shetty, Shah, Amin, Shirke, Rungta, Manohar, Joshi, Jagdale, etc. continue to pop up again and again when we look at the top layer in BCCI. A select few of these gentlemen have continued to form the core of power centre for ages there. They and their friends continue to be at the helms at BCCI and at State Associations across the country despite serving several stints in multiple roles over the years / decades. Barring a few exceptions (Shivlal Yadav, Kumble, Brijesh Patel, Vengsarkar, Srinath, Gavaskar, Shastri, Chetan Chauhan, Ranjib Biswal, and a few others), there is hardly any international or Ranji player of repute serving in any important administrative capacity at BCCI or at any of the State Associations. Akin to many other national Sports Federations in this country, the same game of musical chair - in the garb of elections (every two-three years), continues to be played out amongst these select few and their cronies in BCCI as well. Majority of the serving office bearers may not have even played Zonal or State level cricket in their lives and that includes the current and few other Board Presidents of recent past. If one looks at the names of present BCCI office bearers, one will get to know what is being referred to out here. For instance, some of them are believed to have overt and covert stakeholder interests in IPL teams which clearly is a serious conflict of interest and a matter of gross impropriety and recklessness in these times. IPL - in its current avatar, has also brought some very pertinent issues to the fore in the way cricketing talent is being nurtured, developed and transformed and in the way cricketing calendar is organised vis-a-vis Team India's interests. Looking at several IPL versions held so far, it appears, this glorified club/exhibition cricketing event is designed and organised to completely serve commercial interests and obligations of BCCI which is fine and perhaps justified too, to an extent. Yes, in the bargain, domestic players - getting to play in the same team with big international stars and also getting a chance to make some good money, is also fine and acceptable. However, as far as serving and promoting clean classical professional cricket and nurturing and transforming cricketing talent across the country - geared towards serving long term interests of Team India and the sport overall, the IPL effort certainly leaves a lot to be desired. Serious allegations of money laundering, match fixing, cheating, favouritism, conflict of interest, etc. around IPL owners, players and some BCCI operatives continue to cloud this popular event.

The two cents prescription…

More importantly, MS Dhoni - with due regards to his achievements, has continued to fail as a Test skipper - looking woefully short of ideas in his last three Test series. He should be relinquished of Test captaincy and be left alone to perform as a wicket keeper batsman in Tests. There is no better Test keeper batsman on the horizon at the moment. No, it shouldn’t be Kohli or Pujara filling Dhoni's shoes as Test captain. Let them be free and focus on their batting and do their best in what they are best at. They have recently joined the Test team, so, let them bloom and plunder runs rather than be burdened by the pressures of captaincy. Either of them can be made vice-captains for another year or two. Both Kohli and Pujara look to have the leadership qualities in them but it is early days at the moment. By the way, Kohli is yet to sort out some of the technical glitches in his Test batting against the swinging stuff outside the off stump on lively foreign tracks or against the 140kmph+ short pitched stuff targeting the ribs on green tracks. Similarly, Pujara is yet to be tested abroad in similar questioning batting conditions in Tests.

An experienced senior batsman or bowler should be handed over the captaincy of Test team until the end of 2013 and the policy of appointing captain on series to series basis should be scrapped with. Appointing a senior player could be a stop gap or transitory arrangement - at least until the end of 2013 - mainly designed to provide the stability and experience in Dhoni’s absence. As an option, it could be Sehwag - if he still continues to be in the scheme of things of selectors for a year or so or it could be say Sachin – if he doesn’t plan to retire until the end of 2013. Else, if Sachin hangs up his boots, in the absence of workable alternatives, somebody like Md.Kaif – an experienced, gritty customer, could be brought into the middle order (for providing solidity and experience) and be given the Test captaincy as well. Australia did this recently with Graham Bailey for its T20 team – pulling him out of fringes and giving him the nod ahead of Watson and Warner. West Indies did the same with Darren Sammy and Pakistan did the same with Misbah-ul Haque - all with reasonable success. Kaif has the skills, the temperament and the experience to succeed in Tests and to take the Team along with him. As a batsman, Kaif has been consistently doing well in domestic cricket over the last four-five seasons. As captain of UP, Central Zone and earlier India U-19, his record has been fantastic. Kaif is still considered to be one of the fittest cricketers around in Indian cricket. His fielding prowess and energy on the field is still intact. He has been a team mate of a number of current players in the Test team and that should also hold him in good stead. And he is only 32. Batsmen are said to be at their peak when they are in their early 30s. No wonder Kaif for Tests has a solid backer in Anil Kumble - who understands a few things about Test cricket himself. Bringing in Kaif into the Test team is an option worth considering and taking a look at, for sure with either Kohli or Pujara as the vice captain..

However, Dhoni still looks irreplaceable as captain in shorter formats of the game. He should be allowed to continue at the helms in the two shorter versions until 2015 World Cup. Kohli or Raina be made his deputy for continuity, stability - allowing these two gentlemen the freedom to nurture and prepare the ODI and T20 teams of future. The time has arrived for appointing separate captains for longer and shorter versions of the game.

Although having a foreign coach has its own advantages, Team India’s Head Coach, ideally, should be a combination of local flavor (culture, language, etc.) with adequate international match experience. He should preferably be India born and should have played at least 25 Tests and/or 50 ODIs. He should preferably have coached or mentored a national team anywhere around the world, at least once. Having a foreign passport cannot, however, be held a disqualification by any means, towards the candidacy for Head Coach. It is critical that he must have proven successes in his past playing days and also in coaching assignments to be able to command the respect of international players. This thing is important. More importantly, the Coach must have proven and demonstrated communication, listening, analytical, inspiring and leadership skills, besides, having an eye for talent. For the national team, BCCI already has had batting, bowling and fitness coaches under the supervision of Head Coach, which is great, by the way. However, objective selection criterion for bowling, batting and fielding assignments must also be put in place in writing before hiring them. Measurable, quantifiable and qualitative, time-bound goals/targets (including developing credible talent pool) must be clearly identified and agreed by these Coaches in consultation with BCCI at the hiring stage itself. For State Coaches, the person must have played at least 50 first class or Level A matches. Hiring batting, bowling and fielding coaches for State teams wouldn’t be a bad idea either, provided Associations’ coffers allow that. Similar selection criterion and measurable time bound goals must be put in place for these State level coaching assignments as well. Three year renewable contracts on yearly basis should be given to all these Coaches and renewability criterion / metrics - qualitative and quantifiable achievements against the mutually agreed targets set earlier, should be clearly pre-defined.

At least one annual Five day Test match tournament/s must be included into the domestic cricketing calendar and top senior state/regional/zonal teams should play in this BCCI run tournament/s. Five day Test match tournament/s should also be organized at U-22 as well. Women’s cricket should also get a five day Test match tournament. These domestic Test matches should be played on not only lively green tops and batsman friendly pitches but also on spinning tracks as well, allowing competitive flavor of all track conditions to players knocking on the doors of national team.Even in Ranji Trophy, each Team in league stages, must get to play matches on both green lively tracks and spin friendly dust bowls in equal number.

All State Associations must organize annual tournaments at U-14, U-16 and U-19 levels where district teams can participate. The State Association must also organize an inter-schools championship at the State level on an annual basis as a part of "catch them young" talent spotting and development program. This must become a regular feature in each State. The State Association and State selectors - across all age levels must systematically monitor and track performance and growth of each standout performer and player having potential. This will be a great initiative to discover local talent early and at the right time. BCCI can provide financial assistance or arrange suitable corporate sponsorships just designed to hold these State level tournaments across the country. It would also be great if BCCI with the help of State Associations and Association of Indian universities, revives College and University cricket with the right amount of focus, commitment and visibility. A supporting dedicated talent spotting, nurturing and development program - as a supplement to the College/University program, will go a long way in helping the national talent pool to grow.

Hiring of National selectors on regional/zonal basis must be done away with. Only three selectors should comprise the National selection panel. Selectors of National team/s must have a national perspective and must have played a minimum number of international – Test and ODI matches, say 10 Tests and 25 ODIs. All three of them could be either from just one Association or from three different ones. That shouldn’t matter. What should matter is their cricketing record, cricketing sense, calibre, clear understanding of the evolving game and its changing demands, commitment to sport besides an eye for talent, as the key parameters in their selection or appointment. All selectors – National or State should be paid suitably and they must be given the required independence, autonomy and freedom in their day to day functioning. Their tenure must be guaranteed for three years and they must not function at the pleasure of President or Secretary of BCCI or of State Associations, in any way. It is also important that these National selectors - who get handsomely paid now, are made accountable for their decisions to not only the Board/Associations but also to the cricket loving public of this country through an appropriate transparent mechanism. The same policy should be followed for appointment of State selectors and they should also be paid a decent honorarium. Here, instead of minimum number of international matches the criterion may include minimum number of domestic matches - say 50 Ranji or Level A ones. A pool of paid talent scouts/spotters in BCCI and State Associations must be an automatic part of the future cricketing structure which will not only support the State and National selectors but will also automatically feed the creation of overall talent pool. The paid spotters / talent hunters could comprise of a mix of retired international and/or domestic players and they woul dbe part of the "catch them young" talent spotting and development program.

Player selection must be driven by the needs of specific format of the game. Skill level suiting the format, consistency of past performances, potential to excel, temperament, fitness level, and overall team balance should be the bedrock of selection process. The team’s interests are paramount. Players should not be selected based on reputation or on zonal considerations and the selection process must not be opaque. Specialist Test players should not be pushed into playing T20 and vice versa. Specialists should be separately selected for each format. Some overlapping would be an eventuality depending upon the natural talent and adaptability of individual players - say on lines of Australian cricket. The selection committee must be transparent in sharing their rationale and logic behind selecting or retaining player/players in the Team/s and they must be held accountable. Teams for a particular format should be selected purely based on the skill set, technique, temperament, performance, player’s suitability for the specific format, and player's role in the Team - irrespective of the reputation or region that one hails from. Same selection policy and composition should be adopted for Zonal, State, Junior categories and Women’s team selection.

There should be a transparent and objective criterion and system in place for continuous assessment of player's performance and also for sending the player/s back to NCA / domestic cricket for regaining form, technique correction and/or rehabilitation against injuries or fitness issues. Based on that objective criterion, after adequate number of chances, non-performers or unfit players must be dropped. No matter who the player is, it should not be left to the players (international or domestic) to assess their fitness by themselves as it, then, becomes a subjective process for obvious reasons. In fitness certification and recertification process, there should be a panel of fitness experts at NCA and at its regional centres who should be closely involved in the certification/recertification and rehabilitation process of players on an ongoing basis - following an objective laid out procedure on the lines of international fitness norms and protocol.

The National Cricket Academy should be revamped by giving it a solid skill development, training and talent nurturing orientation. This place must have batting, bowling, fielding, and fitness coaches along with other support staff besides the Director. All these coaches (except the fitness one) must have played international cricket – a certain number of Tests and/or ODIs. The entire focus of this institution should be to specifically fine tune and polish the skills of identified and shortlisted promising and talented domestic players and to develop them into potential international performers. NCA must start performing like an engine which produces and feeds the National teams in all three formats of the game. It makes sense to develop five regional Academies - run by BCCI on the lines of NCA and under the umbrella of NCA. These five Academies would serve as nurturer and feeder agencies in each of these five regions. Fitness criterion should be in built as a key element in all programs and selection process of NCA.

Adequate emphasis should be given to Test cricket by keeping a minimum number of international and domestic matches in the mix for the calendar year. Annual cricket calendar should also be drawn in such a way to allow international players play a mandatory minimum number of domestic Ranji/Duleep/Deodhar Trophy matches allowing and enabling exposure for domestic players especially in longer format of domestic cricket - Ranji Trophy.

Cricket structure at State level must be reorganized to allow professional management and seamless utilization of services of former international and domestic cricketers. The structure and process for administering and development of cricket should be uniform across the country and should not be Association or individual specific. The cricketing system should allow automatic and periodic search of quality and talented young cricketers, should execute a robust talent development and management program enabling budding talents to bloom. Skills development, professional approach, discipline, rigorous fitness regime, performance orientation, transparency and fairness should be the bedrock of all such programs and systems.

As a matter of national pitch policy, each State Association must prepare adequate number of lively green and sporting pitches besides spin and batsman friendly tracks. Domestic championships at both senior and junior levels (e.g. Ranji, Duleep, Challenger, Cooch Behar, Vizzy, etc.) must be played by scheduling equal matches on nuetral, lively pace friendly tracks, spin friendly tracks and on dead and docile batsmen friendly pitches. This will allow both bowlers and batsmen have a level playing field and help them hone their skills in all kinds of cricketing conditions , through the cricketing seasons. BCCI must provide adequate financial and technical help to the Associations in enabling design and development of such pitches and program.

With BCCI’s help, several international stadiums with good infrastructure have come up across the country like Ranchi, Raipur, Dharamshala, Rajkot, Kochi, Pune, etc. In a year, these stadiums will hardly host two or three international matches at the most. For the rest of the year, the stadiums and its cricketing infrastructure could very well be used for training of youngsters, coaching and fitness camps, running regional or State Cricket Academies, hosting Ranji and other BCCI matches, hosting regional U-22/U-19/U-16 and Women’s’ tournaments and so on and so forth. After all, each Association gets Rs.20-30 crores every year from BCCI to develop and support cricket infrastructure and other related activities in the State.

Moreover, not more than two terms or as stipulated under any NSDP - National Sports Development Policy (if any that comes up in future), should be allowed to any office bearer or holder involved in cricket administration at BCCI or at State Cricket Associations. Every two years or as stipulated under NSDP, elections must be mandatorily held for the office bearers of the State Cricket Associations. Age limits must be prescribed for holding any office in either BCCI or State Associations. For instance, 65 could be the upper age limit for all such office hollders. All conflicts of interests instances should be disallowed to hold any office in BCCI or State Associations. BCCI and affiliated State Cricket Associations must adhere to the regulations and norms laid down by NSDP, ensure compliance and allow adequate support and augmentation by the government/s in their endeavours (whenever required). After all, BCCI (a Society registered in Tamil Nadu) - despite its claim as a private entity, presents its cricket Team -Team India as the official National Cricket Team in international arena. Players of the BCCI selected Team are considered to be wearing the India cap and not the BCCI cap. These players are recognised by international cricket Boards and Teams to be representing India and not BCCI. No wonder, Team India's fortunes are synonymous with enormous national pride and honour. However, BCCI and affilaited State Associations must retain their full operational autonomy without any outside interference of any sort in their affairs.

As a policy, adequate national and state cricket talent scholarships and stipends (annual) should be provided by State Associations and by BCCI wherever there isn’t any allowing on a regular basis to talented young but financially challenged cricketers at U-14/U-16/U-19 level to finance their studies and education at Schools, Colleges and Universities. Financial assistance to the talented but needy may even begin at the age of 8 or 9 right until College. Corporate sponsorships should also be institutionalized by BCCI and State Associations in the development of school and college infrastructure and their cricketers. For instance, “Catch them Young” program, etc.could be dovetailed or combined with the sponsorship program. BCCI is already running suitable compensation program for players in domestic matches and pension and other financial assistance programs for retired cricketers and all those initiatives must continue.

Adhering to some important sporting norms like the anti-doping regulations of WADA allowing random sampling of Indian players by an independent national or international agency, setting up anti-corruption units in BCCI/IPL and State Associations to monitor and check irregularities around matches, leveraging technology and accepting the DRS technology to bring umpiring decisions in Team India's matches at par with majority of other Test playing nations are some of the other important issues that BCCI needs to immediately focus on.

Till the time the structure is put in place by BCCI, a panel/pool of talented players from the current domestic circuit - say fifteen fast bowlers, ten spinners, fifteen batsmen and five wicketkeepers should be put in place by the national selectors working in collaboration with the State selectors. This panel should be selected for a period of a minimum of one year. Out of these, based on their skills and suitability they should be further screened for the pools of three formats. Some overlaps would surely happen. And then these shortlisted and screened players should form the core of India A teams for each of the three formats and they should undergo extended training and development program at NCA - two times a year. Adequate matches (both domestic and international) must be given to these three separate India A teams. Adequate chances to perform must be given to each player in the pool to display his skills and prowess. Every year the bottom 15-20 percent non-performing players should be dropped and the pool be replenished with fresh faces, following the same screening process. This pool of players should be awarded an annual contract by BCCI. On the same lines, panels/pools should be selected in Junior and Women’s cricket. They should be accordingly given extended period at NCA - under the tutelage of NCA Director and Coaches there. The junior panel should be carefully selected for a minimum of two years.

Lately, domestic cricket has thrown a few prospects before us. Likes of Ishwar Pandey, Sandeep Sharma, Siddharth Kaul, Parvez Rasool, Jiwanjot Singh, Ankit Rajpoot, Shahbaz Nadeem, Mandeep Singh, Kedar Jadhav, R.Paliwal, Manish Pandey, Mohd.Shami, Unmukt Chand, etc. exude hope for Indian cricket. However, most of them are in their mid-20s and are yet to prove their credentials in domestic cricket over a longer period of time. It is up to BCCI to take these and some other prospects under its wings, nurture and transform them into exciting reliable players who could serve Indian cricket for long. Amongst the perennial benchers, it’s time now Shikhar Dhawan is brought into the ODI and T20 fold at the top of the order. Mukund does not look that he yet belongs there and he seems to have lost it - unless he comes back strong after sorting out technical deficiencies. It is also time to end experimenting at the No.6 slot with Yuvraj, Raina and Jadeja and give Badrinath that spot. Badri has everything to succeed at No.6 in comparison to these three who just don’t seem to have it given the chances that they have had. Also, Rahane - a great prospect, needs to be given his due in all three formats of the game and with an extended run and see how he fares in each of these formats at that level. Rohit Sharma, in all fairness, still looks that he has it in him to succeed at least in the two shorter versions. Somebody at BCCI or in the selection committee or even say Dravid or Sachin or even Gavaskar needs to have a detailed conversation with him and help him sort out his mental problems - whatever it may be. He cannot be moving in and out of the team like this as it doesn’t either augur well for him or for the balance of the team. It’s time he delivers on consistent basis or he should be dropped for good from Tests. Similar opportunity is there for Sreesanth to get back into the Test scheme of things especially when Zaheer is near the end of his innings. Sreesanth is a wicket taking bowler and he deserves another look in provided he is ready to channelize his energies in his bowling than in antics and extra-curricular activities outside the field. Post rehabilitation, Umesh Yadav @140kmph+ certainly needs to get back into the Test and ODI teams. With long standing performance issues with both Test openers, there is a genuine call to draft in the classy and technically correct Wasim Jaffer - who has had a prolific and magical 2012-13 season, to provide much needed stability and solidity at the top of the order.

Almost all of the above (and there are many more which require another write up) are indicative of the fact that the answers lie within BCCI and within its member Associations and their efforts and decisions directly impact the National Team’s fortunes in some way or the other. Without a doubt, some of these prescriptions look radical and many of them are tough to decide and to execute. However, it doesn’t mean that required actions cannot or should not be taken because they are tough or require a lot of will and effort. There is nothing that can’t be changed provided the required will is there. The potential positives of such decisions and actions are too valuable to be ignored anymore. Given the fact that cricket is a religion in this country and people's love and support for this sport needs to be duly respected by BCCI. The dynamics and demands of the game have changed too, so have people's aspirations for the sport and so must BCCI in its response to the demands of these times. This is what will take Indian cricket to desired glories and heights.

Educated youth in politics - Change agent that India needs

2011-10-10T00:17:00.000-07:00

India at crossroads

Today, India is on the verge of greatness and world is looking up to this emerging economy with bated breath to finally arrive. It will be in fitness of things that this nation delivers for itself, for the sake of its people, for its great past and for the world that faces several serious challenges today. This nation has the wherewithal to lead the world in its quest for a better tomorrow and a better life for the future generations.

However, we still have a number of pressing urgencies - complex unsolved issues, priorities and difficult problems to deal with in our own backyard, before we even think of propelling ourselves into the club of developed nations.

Unaccomplished tasks

Despite brisk economic growth and achievements attained over the last couple of decades, there are still critical and important national objectives which remain unaccomplished. We still have huge socio-economic and developmental challenges to be taken care of.

Challenges abound for a majority of our fellow citizens on various fronts - poverty, disease, illiteracy, ignorance, lack of basic amenities, absence of dignified living conditions - sanitation / housing / health care, poor life expectancy and corruption.

Economic and regional disparities, systemic dysfunction and inefficiencies, injustices, deprivation, policy inertia and archaic laws are staring at our faces and questioning us for immediate and effective solutions.

More than 40% of our fellow citizens are still below poverty line. 45% of our rural areas are still without electricity. More than half of India doesn't get safe drinking water beyond a few hours. It is appalling to note that, even today, 10% of our people just don't have any access to safe drinking water.

More than 25% of our people still can't read or write. School dropout rates continue to be at alarming levels. More than half of our children are still malnourished. Spiralling prices especially of food grains, consumer goods, etc. have been hurting the poor for long.

Agriculture which employs more than 50% of our workforce has been stagnating for years. Irrigation, productivity and mechanisation remain big challenges in this sector. Dependence on monsoon for a good crop continues to threaten the economy.

Addressing PDS issue remains a non-priority for the government. Poor procurement policies and lack of adequate storage systems for food grains continue to be big problems. Land acquisition continues to be a hot button issue.

Unemployment is still high at 10%. Three out of every ten persons are either underemployed or are in disguised employment. Industry reports that only 25% of our engineers are employable for want of required skills and proper training. Higher education and research need immediate help and overhaul.

Poor infrastructure - road, power, ports, etc. remain a drag on economy. Economic and regulatory reforms are almost stalled for want of political will and focus.

There are serious governance and delivery issues in government which have been hurting the people and nation's progress for long. Corruption - which hurts our common man the most, is all pervasive in the government today. It is now an unfortunate social reality and a malaise that has been eating into the fabric of our polity for long.

There is a growing disconnect between the government and the citizen. A significant number of government schemes and programmes continue to fall flat and fail to deliver due to flawed centralised planning, top down approach, poor execution, far too many unattended systemic loopholes, poor understanding and coordination between centre and states, unchecked vested interests in play, etc.

More importantly, continued absence of accountability across the system of governance - bureaucracy, political class, regulatory mechanism, etc. leaves a lot to be desired and to be answered for.

The nation faces increasing threats to internal security from Pakistan sponsored and other forms of terrorism. Maoist and Naxalite menaces continue to pose serious threats to nation's safety and security.

Without a doubt, there is a lot on our plates to sort out and to change.

Educated youth in Politics – a game changer

Can there be a better platform than politics to bring this change and to help make a positive difference in people's lives. Arguably, there is not. Moreover, there couldn't be a better time to help prove Bertrand Russell’s comments - that politics is a last refuge of scoundrels, wrong and invalid, at least, in India's context.

In terms of general quality of political leadership, we, as a nation, have had what we voted and opted for in the past. So the responsibility has entirely been ours. Looking at the demographics today, India has more than 50% of its population below the age of 25 and more than 65% hovers below the age of 35. It is expected that, by 2020, the average age of an Indian will be 29 years, compared to 37 for China and 48 for Japan.

India, today, needs a political leadership that is in sync with the times and the aspirations of its people. A leadership that thinks and feels the pulse of its people, that is thoughtful and is brimming with ideas, is what India needs at the helms today. India needs a leadership that has a shared vision for the nation, that is motivated, that is result oriented, that is youthful and energetic and that puts nation and people's aspirations before every other consideration.

It is time now that the young and educated - who have the capability, who are conscious of people's suffering and of ills in the system and who are driven by a sense of sacrifice for greater good, come forward, take initiative, join politics, work hard and start contributing towards the change that people of India are desperately yearning for. It is imperative that the educated youth of this nation rises to the occasion and accepts this responsibility and challenge.

Letting go well cushioned jobs, easy and protected life, financial security, etc. for the rough and tumble of Indian politics may be slightly difficult. However, attending to the moral duty call towards the nation, harnessing one's energy and immersing completely in political and developmental work looks every step worth its salt.

Of course, substantive electoral reforms have become a necessity in the overall context of India's growth story and which look imminent in the wake of evolving domestic political discourse on corruption in political system. These reforms will certainly usher in some form of mandatory public funding of elections - both at national and state levels. These will not only facilitate our educated youth taking plunge into electoral politics and making our democracy more participative but will also help cleanse the political system to some extent.

Challenges and expectations

Given the challenges and goals before this youthful nation, the need for people of this country to rise above divisiveness and to stay together is, perhaps, more than ever today and this cannot be emphasised more here. It will, therefore, be incumbent upon the political leadership to apply itself in maintaining unity and harmony at all cost - so essential for nation's progress and for the nation to be able to suitably respond to priorities and challenges that it faces.

Learning from the past, the leadership, led by our educated youth, will have to gather all organisational and people skills to take everybody along and will have to find the common grounds. Lending a patient ear to all shades of opinions that exist within the vast diversity that characterises this nation, the youth leadership will have to redefine the national agenda and will have to provide appropriate strategy and direction for future.

It will have to set the house in order on priority and will have to think "out of box" to find innovative solutions to the national problems. The youth led leadership will have to capitalise on the enormous opportunities available out there and will have to substantively address both domestic and global aspirations. Who would understand and relate to the aspirations of a youthful nation better but the nation's educated youth itself.

The youthful leadership will have to raise the bar of efficiency, speed, quality and transparency of decision making and delivery. The leadership will naturally have to keep pace with times and will have to keep an eye on the future needs and threats. It will have to be a role model of integrity and probity in public life. Hence, the future leadership will have its task cut out to help this nation claim its rightful place amongst the frontline countries.

Defining moment

This is a defining moment in the history of modern India. The nation's character, ability, energy and resolute are on test today. This is a time of reckoning with the opportunities wide open and sky as the limit. Our educated youth needs to seize this great opportunity and help shape India into a great world power again. Else, we as a nation may miss the bus for ever.

Case for BCCI under Draft Sports Bill / RTI?

2011-08-31T23:14:00.000-07:00

Yes, BCCI runs its own show and it doesn't depend upon government grants for funding. Without a doubt, BCCI, as the apex cricket body in this country, should retain its independence and autonomy as far as functional activities are concerned. It is also true that BCCI does market and monetise cricket well and it deserves credit for the same. But the fact is that BCCI's marketing and monetisation efforts lead to drawing its operational funding from people of this country - sometimes directly and mostly indirectly. BCCI also generates sponsorship funding from various business organisations in this country and abroad.

In fact, BCCI is a commercial sporting body. It is significantly run and funded - directly or indirectly, through people's money and government's help - be it match ticket/entry fees, government's tax exemptions at both Centre and State levels, free use of stadiums built on government land, advertisements and promotions in the stadiums during matches, and utilisation of free government services - like security during international/domestic matches, other local administrative help, etc. Use of DD/AIR airwaves (another public asset) for match telecast/broadcasts, satellite rights - thanks to people driven TRP ratings, etc. are some other indirect benefits that BCCI draws from the people and government. It would be impossible for BCCI and its affiliates to carry out their primary sporting activity i.e. organising matches, without the aforementioned help (involving use of public assets and costing taxpayer's money and time).

More importantly, BCCI's cricket team is recognised as the National cricket Team - irrespective of the format. By virtue of being the sole representative body for cricket in India and by virtue of representing India at the International Cricket Conference (ICC), it becomes obligatory upon BCCI to be accountable to the people and government of this country. Indian embassies and consulates around the world provide logistics support and help, as required, to BCCI's cricket team/s on tours abroad. Such eminent privileges, for sure, do bring responsibility and carry accountability towards the nation.

The fact that BCCI runs on people's money and government's help, clearly, there is a case for some regulation that makes BCCI accountable – at least for the financial side of its business. It must be transparent in the way it handles money received from the people and from domestic commercial public organisations. Secondly, BCCI also receives money from international organisations against sale of TV / promotional rights, IPL Team ownerships, various sponsorship related contracts and bids, etc. As a responsible national sports body, BCCI must be transparent and be accountable for the funds that go into its coffers from abroad. Any funding received from abroad without proper authentication and money trail could result in a serious breach of government regulations or a potential national security threat.

Moreover, when even small private autonomous NBFCs (leave aside banks) which directly collect money from the people for deposits, etc. are regulated by the government ( through RBI), why shouldn't BCCI's financial transactions be regulated under appropriate laws of this country. If a NBFC markets and monetises its products well and successfully collects deposits from the people, does this mean that it should not be held financially accountable and be unregulated under prevailing laws. Should the depositors and their interests be left unprotected at the hands of such successful NBFCs? If people are contributing from their pockets, they have a right to know what happened to their money, how and where their money got spent, who made the decisions about their money, was the expense justified or not, etc. Clearly, people's interests need to be protected.

It is difficult for people in this country to have a sense of assurance that everything is fine in BCCI. There is no way to find out whether BCCI is spending its money in a dutiful, appropriate and accountable way or not. There is very little transparency except that its final accounts are made public post-facto. Yes, BCCI does have an internal audit and it does file its Income Tax returns. However, BCCI, neither makes its audit reports public nor does it inform on actions taken against major violations or wrongful deviations unearthed during those audits. The general public perception is that there are too many things - hidden and under wraps today, within the secretive fiefdom named BCCI.

Today, people have no clue to questions like how and why BCCI spent a particular amount under an expense head; what was the justification behind a major financial decision; were the transactions (credit or debit)- especially the big ticket ones executed appropriately, lawfully and as per BCCI rules; whether procedural and process compliance - right from approvals to payments, strictly followed or not; whether due diligence was done especially in financial transactions like bids, auctions, awarding of contracts; was there any case of conflict of interest amongst the administrative office holders; were the rules subverted or manipulated in any way to favour any specific party or individual and who was the culprit; who amongst the BCCI folks were parties to any particular big ticket transaction that went wrong; and so on and so forth.

BCCI can run its operations independently but it must be financially accountable under the relevant laws of this country. What if, required oversight or appropriate control mechanism in a critical area of their financial system is absent; what if, a group or a powerful individual in BCCI is cooking up a big scam there; what if, somebody with active connivance of others within the system is swindling money; what if a powerful individual and his cronies are exploiting and manipulating the system without getting caught; etc. Is there a way to get clear answers to such questions under the existing BCCI framework. It is quite doubtful.

BCCI has had an unregulated run for long. It's time now that it is brought under some kind of effective financial regulation [and not functional) without impacting its independent functioning so that it truly acquires a national representative character, proper compliance is ensured and people's interests are well protected. Else, it should lose the status as India's only representative cricket body and its teams shouldn't be called as Team India.

Let's wish Air India's Maharaja the best....

2011-08-11T14:26:00.001-07:00

With Air India’s accumulated losses reportedly touching a whopping Rs.23000 crores, its working capital debt reaching a high of Rs.14000 crores, its total debt progressively climbing to a high of Rs.45000 crores and the daily operational deficit hitting Rs.26 crores per day mark, there is no doubt that India’s national carrier is now in dire straits. Recent defaults on interest payments, lack of available cash to pay even operational costs, piled up fuel dues, delayed employee salaries, extremely low employee morale, worsening employee-management conflicts and a half cooked merger that never took off clearly give us a snapshot of the poor health that this company is in now. It is an unfortunate story of a company which used to be India's pride just until a decade ago.

Serious management deficit, financial mess, ageing fleet, low load factor, poor aircraft capacity utilisation, corruption, operational inefficiencies, poor vision, ill-conceived policies, absence of a sound business plan, lack of readiness to combat onslaught of competition, loss of traffic on account of rationalisation of air traffic routes, loss of home country advantage, continuous neglect, bloated wage bill, huge and unsustainable workforce (mostly non-critical), political interference and powerful unions in perennial conflict are some of the reasons that appear to have contributed to the ever declining fortunes of Maharaja's empire.

Instances like Air India/IA’s decision to buy more than 100 planes in one go on unfavourable contractual and financial terms (poor purchase deals, costlier loans, escalated payments, faulty financing), delays in return of leased aircrafts, postponement of delivery of new Boeing aircrafts for months due to lack of proactive planning and absence of organisational preparedness in areas of route and fleet planning, hiring and reallocation of crews, financial planning, etc. are some glaring examples of shallow planning, directionless and inconsistent business strategy, mismanagement and poor execution.

Air India has about 32000 employees. As per reports, out of Air India’s wage bill of around Rs.3700 crores, pilots’ wages account for about Rs.800 crores i.e. about 22%. The wage share of non-critical employees is way too high. If we compare the cost structure of Air India with other top airlines like Jet and Spice, the wage bill looks extremely disproportionate. Air India’s reported employees cost is about 35% of the total costs compared to 9% at Spicejet and 13% at Jet Airways.

Government’s policy decisions and external factors like mandated high sales tax and surcharges on Aviation fuel, removal of routes with heavy loads and opening them up to private airlines, significant aviation fuel price hikes, government's disallowing of hedging and forward purchases of aviation fuel, past global economic and airline downturn, fare regulation by DGCA on some routes, government's policy of 35% capacity commitment on international routes, forced maintenance of untenable regular full time jobs due to existing labour laws, etc. have also significantly contributed to this mess of gigantic proportions.

It is also alleged by some that the ill-conceived merger of Air India with Indian Airlines also contributed to and hastened the airlines downfall. Both entities have had their own cultural DNAs such as internal processes, procedures, systems, and the ways to do their internal businesses. Post-merger, the worsening trust deficit between crew and management, unkept promises of parity between Air India and Indian Airlines pilots, strikes, poor execution, etc. didn't help either.

However, whether this merger should have taken place or not could be a new subject of conversation given the inherent opportunities of compatibility, operating synergies, economies of scale and integration that could be availed out of this merger. For instance, the benefits of compatibility of (nature of) both businesses, utilisation of unused capacity, supply chain integration, enhanced purchasing power, assets reallocation and utilisation, realignment of internal systems, reduction in operational costs, rationalisation of organisational structure and employees in merged entity, leveraging strengths of merged entities, etc. were on the table.

Operationalising of mergers between entities needs a clear and consistent vision, management's immense skill and commitment, a defined integration path with milestones, proactive planning, adequate organisational preparedness, process and systemic integration, employee integration, proper inter-cultural and information dissemination and a conflict resolution mechanism. And mergers, of course, are a time consuming process.

What needs to be done from here on in order to save our national carrier is a million dollar question. Some of the solutions are no brainers but require leadership, maturity, immaculate planning, commitment and execution. Privatisation - reducing government's stake to a minority - say 20%, running the organisation on purely business principles, appointing business like professional board members and management, having zero tolerance for political interference and indiscipline, restructuring the business plan, realigning business strategy to meet competition, rationalising and optimising costs across the company, strategic modernising of fleet in phases, inculcating a culture of professionalism and performance, initiating customer centric policies and strategies, shedding off the flab in workforce through job rationalisation and cuts in both non-critical full time and contract labour, slashing pay and entitlement cuts as required, driving austerity initiatives across the organisation, establishing performance linked incentives, retaining pilots and talent, engaging employees and their participation in decision making, honouring past pledges, renegotiating contracts with Unions and Vendors, etc. are some of the apparent measures that come to mind. There could be several other measures if this revival exercise is pragmatically thought through.

The recent decision to infuse fresh equity of Rs.1200 crores at PM's behest and a bailout package of Rs.5000 crores looks another doze of oxygen for this dying entity. Yesterday's news that Government aims to revamp Air India board and management by bringing in "fresh" talent - appointing three new independent directors from corporate world and a new CMD - from IAS who would be operating under the overall supervision of present Civil Aviation Secretary appears to be another half-hearted attempt by the government to set things right. Under the proposed dispensation, it is difficult to believe that the so called “independent’ directors on board would have the required operational freedom to execute what they think is best for the airline. This policy decision doesn’t seem to have been thought through and do not exude enough confidence.

In the aftermath of this policy decision, government today sacked the existing CMD - a Karnataka cadre IAS officer and appointed a Jt.Secretary rank IAS officer as the replacement. It is interesting to note that the new CMD is a 1982 batch officer armed with a MBA from University of Hull and has about two years of experience in Civil Aviation. Based on the available information, between 2000 and present, i.e. after his MBA in year 2000 and prior to his two year stint in Ministry of Civil Aviation, incoming Air India CMD has worked in State government departments of Welfare and Rural development. Prior to his MBA in 2000, several of his assignments have been in State government marked with some stints at Centre in Departments of I&B and Culture. It is one thing to run a small department in a State Secretariat of few hundred employees and another to run a large, complex, global commercial organisation.

It is hard to comprehend that a person with so little functional / technical experience and national exposure has been given the charge to turnaround an ailing national behemoth like Air India (NACIL). Such an appointment in private sector would be akin to committing “business hara-kiri”. His appointment is surely a backward step and another shooting in one's foot exercise. Moreover, this is another example of Air India being allowed to become a training ground for IAS officers who have no or little knowledge of the aviation sector and have no experience of running a large international commercial enterprise. Furthermore, this appears to be another blatant attempt to maintain a stranglehold over the Airlines by Ministry of Civil Aviation.

To everybody’s bewilderment, the outgoing CMD Arvind Jadhav –another IAS officer who miserably failed as Air India boss and who was hugely responsible for escalating the recent mess, was simply and quietly repatriated to his parent cadre, Karnataka. How about the accumulated losses of thousands of crores that he supervised during his three year tenure, how about several permanent damages that he caused to the organisation due to his non-experience, lack of skill, reported dictatorial approach and high handed attitude. How about the AI-IA merger that he couldn’t execute and which added to the accumulation of losses and to the damage of airlines future. How about the reported low employee morale and perennial conflicts in the organisation that he caused and was majorly responsible for during his tenure. The question now is how and when the government will hold him accountable for his actions. Will he be dismissed from service (that he deserves) or will he be forced to retire and tried in a court for his illogical decisions is something that the government needs to give a thought over. It will be interesting to see if our Parliamentarians raise Mr.Jadhav’s accountability issue in both Houses for the government to reply and act. By the way dismissal from service would be the least punishment that is meted out in a comparable situation in any private sector enterprise - big or small.

The person who is entrusted to oversee and supervise the new revival team of CMD and three "independent" Directors, interestingly, remains the same. The present Civil Aviation Secretary, Mr.Naseem Zaidi - a 1976 batch IAS officer has also been a DGCA and a Jt.Secretary in Ministry of Civil Aviation for several years. Having held such critical positions in the Ministry of Civil Aviation since mid-1990s, Mr.Zaidi would definitely be considered a part of the policy making team which supervised [notwithstanding political interferences] the progressive downfall of Air India. In other words, we have a unique situation here. We have the same person entrusted now to oversee Air India's revival who, as part of the policy making team, was responsible in many ways for bringing it down. Perhaps, Mr.Zaidi would be the one, who, the employees and unions, may trust the least in this revival process.

It is also worthwhile to mention here that Mr.Zaidi led the Civil Aviation Directorate until recent past. The organisation under his tenure saw its credibility diving to its lowest ebb. The office of DGCA, according to public perception, is considered to be a den of corruption, mismanagement, nepotism and unprofessionalism. The recent startling revelations about a number of illegal and fake pilot training institutions in operation across the country, instances of fake pilots being certified by training institutes in collusion with DGCA officials for a price, lack of firm action for years against such fake institutions and against colluding DGCA officials despite string of clinching evidences, poor aviation safety management, etc. speak a lot about the rot that DGCA is in today.

So where is the infusion of professionalism, new vision, fresh talent, vigour and energy, corporate culture, operational independence, and business like orientation in this government strategy? The government doesn't seem to be learning from its past mistakes and looks determined to let Air India bleed further towards bankruptcy. Cynics would opine that this could perhaps be a secret government policy to take Maharaja’s empire further down the dumps so that it can be privatised easily and sold cheap at throwaway price to a favourable party/s. Who knows?

Anyways, now that a new CMD has already been appointed, one can only wish him good luck and pray for his success as we want him to revive Air India. The odds though are heavily weighed against him.

What went wrong in the Carribeans?

2010-05-19T23:31:00.000-07:00

There wasn't much to write home about Indian team's performance in the recently concluded ICC's T20 World Cup. Dhoni's boys buckled under pressure and couldn't even make it to the semi final stage. The captain thought that IPL hangover, travel and fatigue were primary reasons for the boys not performing to their potential. His comments quite naturally sounded like an excuse [even though there could be some truth to it] and quite rightly didn't go well with the cricket loving people and experts here. It was also interesting to note that the Captain 'Cool' believed he had the country's best fifteen T20 players in his team. It appears Dhoni erred on both the counts. His comments appeared to be more of plain excuses than real reasons.

At international level, the player representing his/her country is expected to be prepared and to deliver to one's potential everytime he/she takes to field. It is undeniable that a lot of cricket is being played these days and which is making the players tired and jaded. However, the option is always available for players to be honest and opt out if one isn't fully fit or injured or one can't deliver on the day. This will make way for somebody who is raring to go and deliver. The line up for such players in waiting is long and there is adequate talent pool available.

The question is if some of these players were tired and unfit after the IPL extravaganza, why did they board the plane to West Indies. They always had the opportunity to inform BCCI that they are opting out out and use time to rejuvenate and retrain themselves for the ensuing packed calendar of international commitments. Yuvraj, Rohit, Zaheer, Harbhajan and Jadeja should have been at National Cricket Academy gaining back their fitness and form and honing their skills. Praveen should have been visiting doctors to cure his ailment rather than embarassingly breaking down on the field during an international match. Instead, these players chose to play without being ready to give their 100% and fooled the cricket loving people of this country.

Another interesting comment made by Dhoni that he had the best fifteen players available didn't fly either. If it was true, why were the likes of Pragyan Ojha, Amit Mishra, Robin Uthappa, Kohli and Badrinath not in the team. What were the bits and pieces player doing in the team. It is an accepted fact that the game of cricket is won by specialists irrespective of the format-be it Tests, ODIs or T20s. Look at the recent T20 performances of Mahela, Pieterson, Hussey, Nannes, Butt, Kallis, Swann, Mike Johnson, etc. They are all top class Test and ODI players.

Moreover, some of our frontline T20 batsmen continue to fail against the short pitched bouncers and against balls directed at rib cage. International bowlers appear to have sorted them out. Likes of Rohit, Raina, Yusuf, Jadeja and Murali have always been found susceptible to short pitch deliveries on bouncy tracks and this shortcoming gets highlighted time and again in the matches that they play on faster tracks.

Lack of fitness and unpreparedness of these batsmen add to their woes. Their shortcomings can't be hidden or masked any more. Yuvraj is a classic example at that. It is interesting that these batsmen continue to be selected in the Team despite their deficiencies and when there is enough talent available in the pool. It isn't a rocket science that any technical weaknesses can be overcome by a proper work ethic, discipline, mental toughness, training hard, taking help from experts and seniors, and being fit and strong.

Interestingly, Rohit, Raina, and Murali are touted as the next best hope to replace Sachin, Dravid and Laxman when they choose to retire. These three might have the potential and talent but it is doubtful if they could consistently perform at the highest level specifically in Tests. These three have always looked uneasy and troubled on bouncy tracks and with short pitched stuff and their dismal record proves the point. This includes Raina, who, despite scoring heavily in the recent ODIs/T20/World cup on some flat and dead tracks, failed miserably on the two bouncy tracks that he played in Carribeans. The worst part is that these gentlemen haven't ironed out their shortcomings despite repeated failures. They appear to have taken their positions in the team for granted and seem to enjoy irrational faith of the selectors.

It is an accepted fact that the selectors - driven by their allegiance to their regional cricket bosses, don't look beyond a few. The regional quota system in team selection simply breeds and patronises mediocrity and politicking. This must be done with. The selection committee needs to be constituted of the best available people in business - who know the game and have played international cricket, who understand the international competitition, who understand and know grooming of talent, who have love for cricket and nation at heart and who can rise above the pressures and petty regional politics of cricket establishment.

The question arises ...if not these then who. The talent pool in waiting does have some solid batsmen who could be worthy choices. These specialists have the right attitude, have clearly shown the potential and have gone back and consistently performed in domestic circuit over the last few years. Some of these did not disappoint in the international opportunities that they got in the past but for lack of form in one or two tournaments and the politics of cricket establishment caught up with them.

Wasim Jaffer - easily a more skillful and accomplished batsman than Raina, Rohit and Murali and who has been in cracking form for the last two years, without doubt deserves another chance at the top of the order in Tests. Technically, Jaffer looks even better equipped to face swinging and bouncing red cherry than Gambhir. He could be more useful than even Gambhir or else, Sehwag could be moved to one down. Lately, Jaffer has also performed exceptionally well in domestic ODIs and looks hungry for runs. Badrinath - another one who looks a class act, has a far better technique than Rohit or Raina, comes with a great domestic record and has proven in whatever little chances that he has got. He can come in for Sachin at No.2 in Tests and ODIs. Pujara, for his solid technique, a cool head, a consistent and prolific domestic track record and a great promise is another one who merits a look in for Tests. Kaif who seems to have been deliberately ignored for the last three years, has had reasonably good domestic seasons in the recent past and is still going strong with a few centuries this year. He is arguably the fittest cricketer around and has captained a hitherto unknown team to three Ranji finals in last three years. He looks a good pick for a suitable Test and ODI slot. The players need to be Test ready when they get a chance. Tests are no training grounds. Jaffer, Badri and Kaif - all in their early thirties will also add the much required international experience and solidity to the Test team once the stalwarts - Sachin, Dravid and Laxman leave.

It is high time BCCI feels the need for overhauling the archaic selection process and elects an All India selection team which is well qualified, has a vision, can look around, is open to grooming of talent, takes its job as a mission and can rise above regions, politics and bias to help build the best possible team for today and future.

Welcome Friends to Aaj Ki Duniya !!

2007-07-21T13:00:00.000-07:00

Hope this blog becomes an active and productive meeting ground of unknown minds, opinions, thoughts, news, views, etc. on the happenings in and around our every day lives and our world.

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Regards

Munawwar