AN UNPRECEDENTED PEOPLE’S MOVEMENT PUTS SPOTLIGHT … · 2020. 8. 30. · Vol 20 I No 5 May 2012...

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AN UNPRECEDENTED PEOPLE’S MOVEMENT PUTS SPOTLIGHT ON CORRUPTION

The nation has witnessed a huge spectaclefrom a section of visible population with AnnaHazare's fast for getting the Jan Lok Pal bill be-ing drafted and implemented. His fast unto

death was an event in which not only we witnessedthe 'Tsunami of Sentiments' but was also used bymedia to create an atmosphere as if it a 'secondfreedom struggle'. While one can see that the dis-satisfaction of the people from the system was

overflowing, one also registered that this is a response tothe massive corruption scams which have been unearthed during last few years.While Government succumbed to the mass pressure and the media projection, thewhole episode also raised many a questions about the message which the fastingand Jantar mantar protest gave.

Unfortunately the criticism of elected leaders and the doubting of the democraticsystem itself were taken to the cynical extremes.One concedes that there are serious flaws in theelectoral system, the money power, muscle powerand Corporate influence, but to paint all the leadersin the same brush shows the warped understandingof a section of leadership of Jantar Mantar move-ment. Surely our electoral system needs serious re-forms but this type of projection also needs to be se-riously questioned.

Corruption is the big scourge to the system. We doneed to look beyond the leaders and parties to re-alize that Corruption is primarily due to lack of trans-parency of the system, lack of accountability of theelected representatives and the very nature of oureconomic system and injustices inbuilt in the socialsystem. While one lauds the tremendous responseto the anti corruption movement, one can just hopethat the sectarianism of Anna Hazare should be totally bypassed and the religioustilt of the imagers should be done away with. One hopes that while working on theLok Pal Bill, the collective leadership of the movement will take note of these pointsto ensure that this movement does not meet the fate of two similar earlier one's andthat Right wing divisive forces are kept at bay.

Anna effect has forced government to act tough on corruption, of course the gov-ernment has sensed the public anger against series of scams hence finally majorcrack- down is ordered. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested formerhead of the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee, Suresh Kalmadi, in con-nection with irregularities in the contract for the Queen's Baton Relay (QBR), The CBIis also probing alleged irregularities in the hiring of Swiss firm Event KnowledgeServices (EKS) as CWG's technical consultant. Kanimozhi, the self-effacing journal-ist-poet is today accused of being a co-conspirator in one of the biggest scams thecountry has seen. CBI has charge sheeted Kanimozhi in the 2G scam hence her trou-ble are about to start in a big way with already jailed former telecom minister A Rajaand several important political and business leaders.

The road ahead is challenging, the vested interest will try to block the cleanupprocess with their full might and resources. The key to success for the entire move-ment shall be the constant public pressure to be backed by honest effort from se-lect upright government agencies and strict monitoring of Apex court.

—— PPrraasshhaanntt TTeewwaarrii

People forced govt to go tough on corruption

RNI UP-ENG70032/92, Vol 20, No 5

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The key to successfor the entire

movement shall bethe constant public

pressure to bebacked by honesteffort from select

upright govern-ment agencies andstrict SC monitor-

P28 Living: The great indian lok paltrick and other stories

P36 Forum: Energise Indo-Japanpartnership in education

P40Sports: India on top of the worldafter cup triumph

P45 Biz Time: Reliance to enterhomeland security business

P48 Fashion: indians have potential, saysMonica Gaba

P50 Post script: Shashi Ruia namedbusinessman of the year

MAY 2012

COVER STORY:

WAR ON CORRUPTIONP9-30

IN NEWSEND OF AN ERA

P5-8VROOMEVERYONE’S

BLUE-EYED BABY

TERROR TRAIL

OBAMAGETS OSAMA

P31-35

P46-47

O P I N I O N E X P R E S S MAY 2012 I 5

IN NEWS

Sathya Sai Baba — Saint,philanthropist, educator

More Than A Spiritual Guru, He Was A Leading Light For Many Generations

IN NEWS

O P I N I O N E X P R E S S6 I MAY 2012

Sathya Sai Baba born as Sathyanarayana Raju (23 November1926 - 24 April 2011 was a guru, spiritual figure and educa-tor. In 2011, he was listed by the Watkins Review as one of

the 100 most spiritually influential people in the world. Sathya SaiBaba claimed to be the reincarnation of the spiritual guru, SaiBaba of Shirdi, whose teachings were an eclectic blend of Hinduand Muslim beliefs.

Sathya Sai Baba established schools and colleges, hospitals,and other charitable institutions in India and abroad. The numberof active Sathya Sai Baba followers was estimated in 1999 to bearound 6 million, though adherents' estimates are far higher.]Since there are no formal ties of membership, the actual figuremay never be known. The Sathya Sai Organisation reports thatthere are an estimated 1,200 Sathya Sai Baba Centers in 114countries worldwide. In 2002, he claimed to have followers in 178countries.

Early life and proclamation

In 1940, Sathya Sai Baba declared that he had no worldly rela-tionship with anyone and, around this time, devotees began togather to him. In 1944, a mandir (temple) for Sathya Sai Baba'sdevotees was built near the village. It is now referred to as the oldmandir. The construction of Prashanthi Nilayam, the currentashram, began in 1948 and was completed in 1950.In 1957Sathya Sai Baba went on a North Indian temple tour.In 1954,Sathya Sai Baba established a small free General Hospital in thevillage of Puttaparthi. In 1963, Sathya Sai Baba suffered a strokeand four severe heart attacks. It is believed by some that hehealed himself of these, and on recovering announced that he


announced that he would be reborn asPrema Sai Baba in the state of Karnataka.

Illness and death

Sathya Sai Baba was admitted to a hos-pital at Prashantigram at Puttaparthi on28 March 2011, following respiration-re-lated problems. After nearly a month ofhospitalisation, during which his conditionprogressively deteriorated, Sai Baba diedon 24 April at 7:40 IST. Political reactionswere swift with many offering their condo-lences, including Prime MinisterManmohan Singh and the Dalai Lama.Others who reacted to his death includedcricketer Sachin Tendulkar,who canceledhis birthday celebrations. The Hindu news-paper reported that "Sri Sathya Sai Baba'spropagation of spiritualism and preachingof Hindu philosophy never came in the wayof his commitment to secular beliefs."

His body lay in state for two days, afterwhich it was buried on April 27, 2011.Theburial was accorded the status of a statefuneral by the Andhra Pradesh govern-ment. The Indian Prime MinisterManmohan Singh, Congress presidentSonia Gandhi, Gujarat Chief MinisterNarendra Modi and Union Ministers S. M.Krishna and Ambika Soni apart from vari-ous other political leaders, celebrities andintellectuals were in attendance throughthe last rites. Around 500,000 peoplehave attended the burial.

Institutions, organisations and projects

Sathya Sai Baba supported a variety offree educational institutions, hospitals,and other charitable works in over 166countries. The Sri Sathya Sai Institute ofHigher Learning (now changed to SriSathya Sai University) in PrashanthiNilayam is the only college in India to havereceived an "A++" rating by the NationalAssessment and Accreditation Council (anautonomous body established by theUniversity Grants Commission).Sri SathyaSai University of which Baba was theChancellor, has three campuses, one atPuttaparthi for men,one at Whitefield,Bangalore for men[and one at Anantapurfor women. His charity supports an insti-tute for Indian classical music called theSri Sathya Sai Mirpuri College of Music.Baba's educational institutions aim to im-part character education along with excel-lence in academics with emphasis on hu-man values and ethics.

Sathya Sai Baba chaired theMuddenahalli-Sathya Sai Loka SevaSchool and Sri Sathya Sai Loka Seva TrustEducational Institutions in Muddenahalli-Kanivenarayanapura regions. In addition,

a Sathya Sai Baba University and MedicalSchool as well as a world class hospitaland research institute are being con-structed on over 200 acres (0.81 km2) toserve the destitute population. Baba saidthat the campus will be modeled afterPuttaparthi and will infuse spirituality withacademics.

Sri Sathya Sai Super Specialty Hospital,Whitefield (suburb of Bangalore),Karnataka, India

The Sri Sathya Sai Institute of HigherMedical Sciences in Puttaparthi is a 220bed facility that provides free surgical andmedical care and was inaugurated byPrime Minister Narasimha Rao on 22November 1991. The Sri Sathya Sai

IN NEWS

HIGH-PROFILE DISCIPLES : BABA WITH FORMER PM VAJPAYEE

Sathya Sai Baba supported avariety of free educational in-stitutions, hospitals, and oth-er charitable works in over166 countries. The SriSathya Sai Institute of HigherLearning (now changed toSri Sathya Sai University) inPrashanthi Nilayam is theonly college in India to havereceived an "A++" rating bythe National Assessment andAccreditation Council

IN NEWS


bed facility that provides free surgical and medical care and wasinaugurated by Prime Minister Narasimha Rao on 22 November1991. The Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences inBangalore is a 333 bed hospital meant to benefit the poor.Thehospital was inaugurated on 19 January 2001 by Prime MinisterAtal Behari Vajpayee. The hospital has provided free medical careto over 250,000 patients. The Sri Sathya Sai General Hospital wasopened in Whitefield, Bangalore, in 1977 and provides complexsurgeries, food and medicines free of cost. The hospital has treat-ed over 2 million patients. The Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust runsseveral general hospitals, two specialty hospitals, eye hospitalsand mobile dispensaries and conducts medical camps in ruraland slum areas in India.

The Trust has also funded several major drinking water projects.One project completed in 1996 supplies water to 1.2 million peo-ple in about 750 villages in the drought-prone Anantapur districtin Andhra Pradesh. The second drinking water project, completedin 2004, supplies water to Chennai through a rebuilt waterwaynamed "Sathya Sai Ganga Canal". Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.Karunanidhi praised the Chennai water project and Sai Baba's in-volvement. Other completed water projects include the MedakDistrict Project benefiting 450,000 people in 179 villages and theMahbubnagar District Project benefitting 350,000 people in 141villages. In January 2007, the Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust said itwould start a drinking water project in Latur, Maharashtra. In2008, 2 million people in the state of Orissa were affected byfloods. As a relief measure, Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organization, hasbuilt 699 houses as a part of their first phase in 16 villages byMarch 2009.

Sathya Sai Baba's Educare program seeks to found schoolsthroughout the world with the goal of educating children in the fivehuman values. According to the Sai Educare site, schools have

been founded in 33 countries, including Australia, Mexico, theUnited Kingdom and Peru. The Times of Zambia states, "The pos-itive influence of Sathya Sai is unprecedented in the annals of ed-ucation in Zambia. Sai Baba's education ideals as embodied in hishuman values-based approach in education are an eye opener toeducationists in Zambia."

In Canada, the Fraser Institute, an independent Canadian re-search and educational organization, ranked the Sathya SaiSchool of Canada as one of the top 37 elementary schools inOntario. On 23 November 1999, the Department of Posts,Government of India, released a postage stamp and a postal cov-er in recognition of the service rendered by Sathya Sai Baba in ad-dressing the problem of providing safe drinking water to the ruralmasses.

On 23 November 2001, the digital radio network Radio SaiGlobal Harmony was launched through the World SpaceOrganization, United States. Dr Michael Oleinikof Nobel (distantrelative to Alfred Nobel and one of the patrons for the radio net-work) said that the radio network would spread Sathya Sai Baba'smessage of global harmony and peace.

In January 2007, an event was held in Chennai Nehru stadiumorganised by the Chennai Citizens Conclave to thank Sathya SaiBaba for the 200 crore water project which brought water from theRiver Krishna in Andhra Pradesh to Chennai city.

Off course, his vast empire and personality had several contro-versies but surely the better work and social service of Sathya SaiBaba shall inspire the world for many years to come. He was ahope for millions of his devotees and inspiration for mankind allacross the globe.

( Tribute paid by Prabhakar Rao son of late PV Narsimha Rao, former PM of India )

HALL OFSHAME

SIXISSUESTHAT

SHAMEDINDIA THEMOST...


Corruption: As old as the countryIndia's date with corruption seems to be as

old as the country itself. Starting with theBritish bribing the Maharajas to gain control ofthe unconquered lands, it is a long trait thathas been a boon and a bane to many. Youmust be thinking how is it a boon? I'll come tothat later.

Licence Raj: Corruption Raj sinceIndependence, India's economy has been driv-en by socialist-inspired policies for practicallythree to four decades. When Indira Gandhicame to power in 1966, she went on a social-ist spree --- Nationalising banks, Garibi hataocampaign and Licence Raj. Licence Raj be-came synonymous with corruption as red tapewas inevitable while the companies scoutedfor licences to set up businesses in India.

Imagine this: Up to 80 government agencieshad to be satisfied before private companiescould set up shop, and if they did manage todo it, the government would regulate the pro-duction. Probably that is not what JawaharlalNehru, the architect of the system of Licence

COVER STORY

This story was published on theeve of Independence Day lastyear. But it has become releventtoday against the backdrop inAnna Hazare's crusade againstcorruption. Some things neverchange in India. Will Anna buckthis trend? Here is a list of sixthings/issues that we Indiansshould be shameful about...


what Jawaharlal Nehru, the architect ofthe system of Licence Raj, had in mind.

Spectrum Raja: Billions vanish into air

That licence raj is still prevailing today,albeit in a different manner, thanks toSpectrum Raja, is disturbing. A Raja, whois the Union Minister forTelecommunications, seems to have lit-erally thrown spectrum to the winds.There were major irregularities in allot-ting wireless radio spectrum and li-cences by the telecom ministry to nine

private telcos in 2007(second genera-tion).

The Rs 60,000 crore-scam beganwhen the government allocated scarce2G spectrum at throwaway prices thattoo to a string of companies without anyexperience in the telecom sector.

The allegation is that the governmentgave away scarce spectrum to nine com-panies, clubbed with licences, on a first-come-first-serve basis, rather thanthrough an auction process.

That is, an operator got start-up spec-trum by paying pan-India licence fee of

Rs 1,650 crore. This price was not takenon the basis of the 2007 market valuebut on the basis of an auction held in2001.

Also, many new players roped in for-eign investors soon after acquiring the li-cences, thereby making a neat sum. Thevalue of the licence and spectrum in2007 could not be the same as in 2001as the telecom market has grown phe-nomenally during this period. PrimeMinister Manmohan Singh refused to ac-cept the allegations surroundingSpectrum Raja.

COVER STORY

OF DREAM AND REALITY: THE LICENCE RAJ THAT WE HAVE IS NOT WHAT NEHRU WOULD HAVE THOUGHT OF


Raja has continually maintained that thegovernment has simply following its earlierpractice of allotting 2G start-up spectrumalong with licences on a first-come-first-serve basis. The 2G spectrum allocation is-sue came under the scrutiny of variousbodies, including the Central VigilanceCommission (CVC) and the Central Bureauof Investigation (CBI). Despite these inves-tigations during the UPA-1 regime, Raja re-turned as the IT and communications min-ister in UPA-2. Raja is an MP of UPA allyDMK.

The government policy of 2G spectrumis facing fire as the ongoing auction of 3G(third generation) spectrum has resulted inexceedingly high bids. Against the pan-India reserve price of Rs 3,500 crore, the3G auction has yielded close to Rs9,000crore in 16 days of bidding. The 3G biddingis nowhere near the closing line yet.

Commonwealth Games: Muck yet to stop flying

Imagine buying a 100 litre fridge for Rs42,202 (which can be bought for a mereRs 14,000-15,000), a toilet tissue paperroll for Rs 4,132 (Original price: Rs 30-40)and a 2 tonne AC for Rs 1,87,957 andwait..... an umbrella for Rs 6,000 and

COVER STORY

NEW FACES OF CORRUPTION:RAJA (ABOVE) AND KALMADI


and wait..... an umbrella for Rs 6,000 andmore!!!!

This is probably a Guinness record andthe neatest way in which SureshKalmadi, the chairman of the GamesOrganising Committee, could make potsof money... after all price is a matter ofperception. The rot starts right at the top.The probe of Comptroller Auditor Generalof India (CAG) revealed that undue favourhad been showed to London-based FastTrack Sales solely on the recommenda-tion of Commonwealth GamesFederation Mike Fennell and ChairmanSuresh Kalmadi.

Jubilee Sports Technology, a relativelyunknown company, had bagged manyGames contracts and was a key supplier.It appears as if the company's headquar-ters and other shareholders have simplyvanished into thin air as most of the ad-dresses have turned out to be a fake.There too much more muck....At this rate,Mani Shankar Aiyar's dreams of the DelhiGames flopping might come true.

Among the other famous scams thathave rocked India for several years are

the Bofors scandal (which is yet to seethe light of the day), fodder scam andMayawati's Taj Corridor Scam. A quicklook at history to find out why they arestill rocking the Parliament.

Bofors: The Indian government signeda $1.4 billion contract with Swedish armscompany AB Bofors on March 24, 1986,for the supply of over 400 155mm how-itzers. It is alleged that Bofors paid kick-backs to top Indian politicians and keydefence officials to secure the deal.Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi,who was close to Rajiv Gandhi, was themiddle man.

Former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi'sname figured in the first CBI chargesheetin the case as "an accused not sent fortrial" as he was killed in 1991. TheHinduja brothers also have been chargedin this case --- with cheating, criminal con-spiracy and corruption. Both were latercleared of any involvement by the DelhiHigh Court. The latest --- CBI has appliedfor a closure of the case against Italianbusinessman Ottavio Quattrocchi.

COVER STORY

LORDING OVER LOOT GAME?: KALMADI AT CWG SITE (BELOW) BOFORS SCANDAL IS ALIVE EVEN AFTER OVER 20 YEARS


Fodder Scam: The Rs 950-crore scam keptLalu Prasad Yadav in the limelight longenough. It involved the alleged embezzle-ment of about Rs 950 crore from the treas-ury of Bihar. This was done over manyyears and through various officials whoeven fabricated vast herds of fictitious live-stock for which fodder, medicines and an-

imal husbandry equipment were suppos-edly procured.

Now back to why it is a boon for peoplelike us. It is because our officials are cor-rupt that we know that a bribe here andthere will get our work done, withoutbreaking our heads too much about beinglaw-abiding citizens. We evade taxes, payoff cops for traffic violations, register prop-erties under false names, play for thecountry even if we are not eligible all be-cause corruption has become so intrinsicin our system.

COVER STORY

ENDLESS TRAIL: QUATTROCCHI(ABOVE) AND LALU PRASAD

We evade taxes, pay off copsfor traffic violations, registerproperties under false names,play for the country even if weare not eligible all becausecorruption has become sointrinsic in our system.


Judiciary: Nearly 30 million cases pending

In India, if you file a case, your case might come up for hearing10 years later. Well, with a population of 1 billion andcounting what would you expect? India could

take some lessons from the US on litigation-- a country where people get sued if theirdog poops on the road, or they showcruelty towards their cat.

Over three million cases arepending in India's 21 high courts,and an astounding 26.3 millioncases are pending in subordi-nate courts across the country.At the same time, there are al-most a quarter million under-tri-als languishing in jails acrossthe country. Of these, some2,069 have been in jail for morethan five years, even as their guiltor innocence is yet to be ascer-tained.

The only thing that works in India ismoney and muscle power -- even in the judi-ciary. Not true? Tell me one case of where apolitician or an actor or a businessman who is accusedof some really serious crimes (mostly they do turn out to be true

even though we have to give everyone the benefit of the doubt)actually punished?

Take the case of the Anti-Sikh riots. Despite 16 years of courtsand cases and more cases, not one accused has been

brought to book. Congress MPs Sajjan Kumar andJagdish Tytler have been charged with murder

in the case. Yet, both of them roam freely.The ex-chief executive officer of

Satyam, now Mahindra Satyam,Ramalinga Raju is now "recuperatingin a hospital" when he should beserving time in a jail for embezzlingthousands of crores of rupeesfrom his company. That is anotherfad: Feigning illness to escape go-ing to jail.

Actors too are not far behind.Salman Khan and Sanjay Dutt

have been in the limelight mostly forall the wrong things they have done

rather than their acting. Sanjay Dutt,who is one of the six accused in the

1993 Mumbai riots case, was sentenced tosix years in jail under the Arms Act but was ex-

onerated for terror offences under the stringentTADA (Terrorist and Disruptive

COVER STORY

JUSTICE UNDER FIRE: FORMER CJI KG BALAKRISHNAN AND (BELOW) JUSTICE DINAKARAN


Activities Act). Sanjay Dutt has moved on... He got married and isgoing to be a father.

In September 2002, Salman Khan ran his Land Cruiser oversome pavement dwellers killing one and seriously injuring

three people. At the time of the accident, Salman was re-

turning from the J W Mariott Hotel in Juhu and headingfor his home in Bandra. The actor was booked for rash

driving and causing death due to negligence under sections304, 279 and 388 of the Indian Penal Code. He is currently

making movies....

COVER STORY

Sanjay Dutt, who is one of the sixaccused in the 1993 Mumbai ri-ots case, was sentenced to sixyears in jail under the Arms Actbut was exonerated for terroroffences under the stringentTADA (Terrorist and DisruptiveActivities Act). Sanjay Dutt has

moved on... He got married andis going to be a father.

WHOSE HONOUR?: A PROTEST AGAINST KHAP KILLINGS


Honour Killings: Partition horror act continues

The funny thing is there is nothing honourable about them."Honour killings" is the murder of a family or a clan member byone or more family members in which the perpetrators believethat the victim is bringing dishonour upon the family, clan orcommunity.

The rate at which honour killings are reported in India, it is amiracle that people still find the courage to fall in love outsidetheir community. Widespread in most circles, conservatives orotherwise, in India or abroad, it shows up in different ways.Women and young girls are especially at the receiving end ofsuch heinous crimes. Funny, people don't seem to think parad-ing women naked and molesting them in public are not "dishon-ourable".

This "tradition" has its roots in the gory Partition saga, wheremany women were forcibly killed to save family honour. Duringthose troubled times, there were a lot of forced marriages whereIndians and Pakistanis would marry each other. This, in turn, ledto them being declared social outcastes. But, it did not stopthere. It became a bloodbath, which got sucked into the meleeof all the things that came to define Partition.

This is not a practice relevant to India alone. It is practised inPakistan, Afghanistan, Africa, the Middle East and many othercountries. This is a genocide that needs to be addressed soon...

before it gets any worse.

FCI: Nation starves, food grains rot

What is with the Food Corporation of India? They are supposedto be feeding millions of people and instead are doing everythingin their power to make sure the food grains don't reach the mass-es. The FCI is responsible for procurement and storage of foodgrains. Even as thousands and lakhs of people starve everyday,food grains rot in FCI godowns. In one of the latest exposes, thegovernment has admitted that 61,000 metric tonnes of foodgrains, which could have fed about 8.4 lakh people for one year,was unfit for consumption. And the best part is, the FCI wants toexport the unfit grains to our neighbours - Bangladesh andNepal.

Now, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar is of the opinion thatall reports on rotting of food grains are not "correct and quite ex-aggerated. "There are only certain cases of damage and we havesuspended some officials," he added.

The remark came two days after the Minister conceded in theHouse that rotting of foodgrains was a "shameful" fact. He hadsaid that over 11,700 tonnes of foodgrains worth Rs. 6.86 crorewere found "damaged" in government godowns. We give food torats, but don't have enough for our people.

Source: India Syndicate

COVER STORY

JFREE FOR ALL: FOOGRAIN STORED AT FCI GODOWNS IS EXPOSED TO ALL KINDS OF VAGARIES

DOGGED DETERMINATION : ANNA AT JANTAR MANTAR


The timing of Anna Hazare's fast wasperfect. The cricket World Cup hadconcluded, India had won and for a

few days the media was full of post victorycelebrations. Then came Hazare's fast andthe TV media was all over him. Middleclass professionals like doctors, teachers,students and housewives kicking out sea-soned politicians and vowing to helpHazare's fight against corruption madegreat media copy. TV coverage of the fastfilled neatly the void left by the World Cupfinal and the now boring images of Rajabeing paraded in court.

It is interesting to note that while the TVmedia has backed Hazare's Jan Lokpal bill,this is not entirely true of the print media

which has advised caution. Some newspa-per articles have in fact out rightly dis-missed the agitation as a middle class"page three" event. But while there aresome infirmities in Hazare's demands, todismiss the whole event as a stage-man-aged one would be dangerous. It wouldalso be an insult to the Indian democracy.Consider some of the objections. ThatKiran Bedi, Swami Agnivesh,BabaRamdev, etc. are playing a political game.More than likely.

The visual of a small clearly uncomfort-able girl (whose daughter?) giving juice tobreak Hazare's fast could not have beenimproved upon even if rehearsed in a TVstudio. Frankly, if not for the hovering Bedi,

COVER STORY

NEW DAWN: ANTI-CORRUPTIO PROTETERS AT JANTAR MANTAR

Appreciate efforts; ignoreindividuals in this fight

Middle class professionalslike doctors, teachers,

students and housewiveskicking out seasoned politi-

cians and vowing to helpHazare's fight against cor-ruption made great mediacopy. TV coverage of the

fast filled neatly the void leftby the World Cup final andthe now boring images of

Raja being paraded in court.

COVER STORY


have been improved upon even if re-hearsed in a TV studio. Frankly, if not forthe hovering Bedi, I thought the girl was go-ing to make a break for the open spaces.Yet, this event was not about these indi-viduals but about Hazare. It must be saidthat, in the past, Hazare has shown no po-litical leanings going after both Congressand Shiv Sena leaders in Maharashtra.Nor has he shown any compromise withpoliticians of Maharashtra to obtain anypersonal benefits.

Hazare's only failing is his obstinacy. Butwas that not true of Mahatma Gandhi?Obstinacy of leaders can be dangerous, es-pecially in a democracy. This is where com-parisons of Hazare and the Mahatma arerather silly. The Mahatma was fighting aclearly non-democratic colonial govern-ment. But in choosing politicians and gen-eral corruption as his target, Hazare hasclearly struck a chord among the urbanmiddle class. Forget the high level corrup-tion in telecom, the CWG, etc.

What irks the middle class is that even20 years after liberalisation, even legal ac-tivities still require payoffs. From homebuilding, issue ration cards, to startingsmall business to doing music shows, un-derhand payments are necessary. It is notsurprising that every survey I have seenputs the political and executive at the bot-tom of the trust ladder. So, it's not aboutthe Jan Lokpal bill but about the failure ofgovernance and regulatory mechanisms.Critics of Hazare argue that there is any

number of existing mechanisms: the CVC,the CBI, the commissions for humanrights, SC/ST, etc.

But these are all government controlled

mechanisms and there is ample evidenceof their ineffectiveness and even misuse. Ademocracy requires independent regula-tors like Trai, Sebi, etc., which have stoodthe test of time. The failure of the DGCA inthe aviation sector is mainly because it hasnot developed into an independent regula-tor. So, this is what the middle class is hop-ing for. That the Lokpal will become an in-dependent regulator for the political andthe executive class. Given this, it is obviousthat non-governmental actors must play apart in giving teeth to this regulator. Hencethe demand for nongovernmental repre-sentation in drafting the bill seems emi-nently reasonable. Consider the other ob-jection.

Who will regulate the Lokpal? Willhe/she become larger-than-life and as cor-rupt? This is again a rather silly argument.Rulings of the Lokpal must be subject to ju-dicial review. It must be remembered thatas one pillar of democracy, people stillhave faith in the judiciary. What has comeunder attack is the accountability of thepolitical and executive class. This is whatHazare has highlighted. Will the Jan Lokpalbill solve all problems? Probably not, evenin an amended form. But hopefully, this willstart the demand for electoral and admin-istrative reforms which the political classhas been unwilling to accept.

Maybe the time has come for a perma-nent civil service, police reforms and statefunded elections? It is the lack of theseand the arrogance of the political and ex-ecutive class that has ignited the anger ofthe middle class. It is easy to dismiss allthat has happened as the handiwork of the"middle class" in urban areas. Those usingthese arguments seem to forget the lessonof history: all successful revolutions havebeen led by the middle class. It is true thatthis class usually does not vote in elec-tions. But that is mainly due to disillusion-ment with all political parties. This is dan-gerous for democracy. The Hazare issuemust be addressed or the remedy mightwell be painful.

By Manoj Pant, Faculty, JNU

Hazare's only failing is hisobstinacy. But was thatnot true of MahatmaGandhi? Obstinacy ofleaders can be danger-ous, especially in ademocracy. This is wherecomparisons of Hazareand the Mahatma arerather silly.


Manoj Pant

1. Who is Anna Hazare?An ex-army man. Fought 1965 Indo-Pak War

2. What's so special about him?He built a village Ralegaon Siddhi in Ahamad Nagar dis-

trict, Maharashtra

3. So what?This village is a self-sustained model village. Energy is pro-

duced in the village itself from solar power, biofuel and windmills.

In 1975, it used to be a poverty clad village. Now it is oneof the richest village in India. It has become a model for self-sustained, eco-friendly & harmonic village.

4. Ok,...?This guy, Anna Hazare is well decorated. He was awarded

COVER STORY

NEW WAVE: ANNA AND HIS ARMY

Everythingyou wanted to

know aboutAnna Hazare

It seems lots of people do not know about AnnaHazare and his indefinite fasting and about theLokPal bill. I like to share the following emailfloating around the internet to explain it crystalclear in a nut shell to share.

COVER STORY


Padma Bhushan and is a known figurefor his social activities.

5. Really, what is he fighting for?He is supporting a cause, the amend-

ment of a law to curb corruption in India.

6. How that can be possible?He is advocating for a Bil, The Jan Lokpal

Bill (The Citizen Ombudsman Bill), that willform an autonomous authority who willmake politicians (ministers), beurocrats(IAS/IPS) accountable for their deeds.

8. It's an entirely new thing right..?In 1972, the bill was proposed by then

Law minister Mr. Shanti Bhushan. Sincethen it has been neglected by the politi-cians and some are trying to change thebill to suit thier theft (corruption).

7. Oh.. He is going on a hunger strike forthat whole thing of passing a Bill ! How canthat be possible in such a short span oftime?

The first thing he is asking for is: the gov-ernment should come forward and an-nounce that the bill is going to be passed.

Next, they make a joint committee toDRAFT the JAN LOKPAL BILL. 50% gover-ment participation and 50% public partici-pation. Because you cant trust the govern-ment entirely for making such a bill whichdoes not suit them.

8. Fine, What will happen when this billis passed?

A LokPal will be appointed at the centre.He will have an autonomous charge, saylike the Election Commission of India. Ineach and every state, Lokayukta will be ap-pointed. The job is to bring all alleged par-

ty to trial in case of corruptions within 1year. Within 2 years, the guilty will be pun-ished. Not like, Bofors scam or Bhopal GasTragedy case that has been going for last25 years without any result.

9. Is he alone? Who else is there in thefight with Anna Hazare?

Baba Ramdev, Ex. IPS Kiran Bedi, SocialActivist Swami Agnivesh, RTI activist ArvindKejriwal and many more. Prominent per-sonalities like Aamir Khan is supporting hiscause.

10. Ok, got it. What can I do?At least we can spread the message.

How? Putting status message, links, video,changing profile pics.

At least we can support Anna Hazareand the cause for uprooting corruptionfrom India.

At least we can hope that his HungerStrike does not go in vain.

At least we can pray for his good health.

(Inputs by Dr Rahul Misra,Associate Editor)

The job is to bring all al-leged party to trial in caseof corruptions within 1year. Within 2 years, theguilty will be punished. Notlike, Bofors scam orBhopal Gas Tragedy casethat has been going forlast 25 years without anyresult.


Hazare's rise coincides with Pawar'sdecline? The clash between twosons of Maharashtra - one, an ambi-

tious neta, the other, a social activist - sym-bolises India's war against corruption.

Anna Hazare's ascent in the socio-polit-ical landscape has coincided with the al-most proportionate descent of one ofIndia's foremost politicians, Sharad Pawar.

As India battles corruption like never be-fore, it is extraordinarily symbolic that anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare's ascent

in the socio-political landscape has coin-cided with the almost proportionate de-scent of one of India's foremost politicians,Sharad Pawar.

The all-pervasive cancer of corruption inthe body politic is the battleground and thespectators are a billion strong. The mo-ment is historic and both, Anna Hazareand Sharad Pawar, have emerged as thedefining symbols of this battle. Once astrong prime ministerial candidate whohad challenged 10 Janpath, Pawar has

COVER STORY

Anna & His BattleIt seems lots of people donot know about Anna Hazareand his indefinite fasting andabout the LokPal bill. I like toshare the following emailfloating around the internetto explain it crystal clear in anut shell to share.

COVER STORY


Once a strong prime ministerial candidatewho had challenged 10 Janpath, Pawar hasbeen openly accused by Hazare of encouragingcorruption and became the first victim of the JanLokpal agitation. It didn't help one bit when dayslater, the tainted PR handler Niira Radia namedPawar as the godfather of Shahid Balwa's DBRealty empire.

The mass support that Pawar easily drums up,especially from his rural followers, has alwaysbeen cited as the crown jewel of his five-decadelong political career. Even that now virtuallypales into insignificance in front of the mass out-pouring of support, from Kashmir toKanyakumari and Gujarat to Assam, in favour ofHazare.

ANNA HAZARE HAS INSPIRED A NEW MOVE-MENT

There's deep symbolism in the fact that bothare from Maharashtra -- a land that has been atthe forefront of social reforms and offering icon-ic leadership to India. From the 17th centuryking Chhatrapati Shivaji who took on the mightyMughals, to Babasaheb Ambedkar who pioneered the Dalit move-ment in the modern era, the intervening period saw social re-formers like Jotiba Phule and Maharishi Karve, and political giantslike Lokmanya Tilak and Gopal Krishna Gokhale.

Will Hazare join this league as the architectof India's anti-ccorruption crusade?

The Gandhian Hazare's village, RaleganSiddhi, in Ahmednagar district and Pawar'shometown Baramati represent two modelsof development, both with their sets of ad-mirers. As the youngest-ever chief minister ofMaharashtra, Pawar served four terms be-fore focusing on national politics. He pro-pelled Baramati's development through athree-pronged strategy: he strengthened thecooperative movement for sugar productionand dairy development, influenced industri-alists to establish plants, and established in-frastructure through his control over the gov-ernment.

Thus, while the Baramati taluka is a leaderin dairy and sugar production, the Kalyanis,Goenkas and Thapars have their big indus-tries in this small town. The Anil Ambani-ledReliance Airport Developers Ltd is privatelydeveloping the Baramati airport as a gener-al aviation hub while Vijay Mallya's UnitedBreweries Group has established India's

largest winery in Baramati.Once a strong prime ministerial candidate who had challenged

10 Janpath, Pawar has been openly accused by Hazare of en-couraging corruption and became the first victim of the Jan

Once a strong primeministerial candidatewho had challenged 10Janpath, Pawar hasbeen openly accused byHazare of encouragingcorruption and becamethe first victim of theJan Lokpal agitation.Pawar also established,again in Baramati, themassive VidyaPratisthan educationalcomplex which, in keep-ing with his vision, of-fers advanced coursesin information technolo-gy

ANNA’S ARMY: HAZARE WITH KEZRIWAL. KIRAN BEDI AND SWAMI AGNIVESH


Jan Lokpal agitation. Pawar also estab-lished, again in Baramati, the massiveVidya Pratisthan educational complexwhich, in keeping withhis vision, offers ad-vanced courses ininformation tech-nology andbiotechnology.In 2004,R e l i a n c eIndustries CMDMukesh Ambanii n a u g u r a t e dVidya Pratisthan'sSchool ofBiotechnology and of-fered all-out assistance, asdid Kiran Mazumdar Shaw of BioconIndia.

Anna Hazare (72), who is almost as oldas Sharad Pawar (70), never had any ofthese advantages. He was a truck driverwhen he left the Indian Army and re-turned to his chronically drought-strickenvillage in 1975 to try and lift it out ofpoverty. He focused on character, valuesand principles, walked the talk, motivatedthe villagers to undertake water-conser-vation projects through shram-daan (vol-untary labour) and, through communityaction, forced the closure of liquor shops.

The hard work paid off and his villagebecame an oasis of self-sufficiency, and amodel for others to follow. While only pow-erful politicians and regional satrapscould try to replicate Pawar's Baramatimodel, many self-driven, but otherwise

'ordinary' villagers have replicated theRalegan Siddhi model. Popatrao Pawar'svillage Hivre Bazaar is a famous example.

The mass support that Pawar easilydrums up, especially from his rural fol-lowers, has always been cited as thecrown jewel of his five-decade long politi-cal career. Even that now virtually palesinto insignificance in front of the massoutpouring of support, from Kashmir toKanyakumari and Gujarat to Assam, infavour of Hazare.

Once admired for his administrativeskills as chief minister, quick grasp ofcomplex issues, grassroots popularity,and a progressive predisposition (Pawar

has publicly spoken of his vasectomy af-ter the birth of his only child, a girl), a newchapter opened in Pawar's career after hechose to move to Delhi. He was effective-ly sidelined by the Congress high com-mand.

As the political scientist Ram Bapattold this correspondent in an interview,the move to Delhi was a blunder. Pawarshould have focused on the developmentof Maharashtra. Another view suggeststhat it was the compulsions of Delhi poli-tics and his personal ambitions thatbrought Pawar closer to corporate biggiesand the consequent controversies.

Hazare and Pawar have clashed previ-ously. Hazare has openly accused Pawarof collaborating with the builder lobby,and his anti-corruption campaigns inMaharashtra caused the resignations ofthree NCP ministers. Another NCP politi-cian and a close relative of Pawar,Padamsinh Patil, had to bite the dustwhen he was arrested in a murder caseand accused of plotting to murderHazare.

Recent years have seen Pawar em-broiled in serious controversies involvingmega-construction firms such as Lavasaand now DB Realty. In his larger crusadeagainst corruption which has the supportof the entire nation, Hazare has clearlyoutpaced and overshadowed Pawar. TheHazare-Pawar battle is now just a side-story and has perhaps reached its de-nouement.

— Prashant Tewari(Editor in chief)

COVER STORY

The mass support thatPawar easily drums up, es-pecially from his rural fol-

lowers, has always beencited as the crown jewelof his five-decade longpolitical career. Eventhat now virtually palesinto insignificance in

front of the mass out-pouring of support, from

Kashmir to Kanyakumariand Gujarat to Assam, infavour of Hazare.

ON TARGET: SHARAD PAWAR

COVER STORY


Anna Hazare's fast-unto-death was just a reflection of whatHindutva groups have in store for the graft-hit Congress inthe months to come. A nationwide agitationagainst corruption is being planned with

three main RSS sympathisers - K.N.Govindacharya, S. Gurumurthy andSubramanian Swamy - at the helm of affairs.A meeting of what is being referred to as theRashtrawadi Morcha, a political groupaligning with a number of provincial politi-cal parties and civil society groups, washeld in Delhi on Thursday.

RSS sympathiser K N Govindacharyapresided over a meeting of theRashtrawadi Morcha in New Delhi.

What came out of the session chaired byGovindacharya was that there is an under-standing that corruption is the biggest issueagitating people and the political class is too dis-credited to leverage that. Hence, the Hindutvagroups are creating a broad-based alliance with small

political groups and people working for electoral reforms - such asJayaprakash Narain of the Lok Satta, the Janata Party headed by

Subramanian Swamy and the Rashtriya Krantikari JanataParty from Bihar - to whip up support for a mass move-

ment."We agree that we are all working for a political

alternative that is against corruption. I requestyou all to start spreading the message that weare all working towards a corruption freeIndia," Govindacharya told the meeting at-tended by 25 organisations.

The first public programme will be held onMay 10 when the Morcha members will ob-serve fast to rid India of corruption.

Jayaprakash Narain stressed on short andlong term plans to "save India". He said: "Now

we have to rescue politics, we have to exhortpeople to vote, we have to save India from cor-

rupt politicians and infuse fresh blood."What was also clear was the robust nature of

nationalism and subtle Hindutva undercurrent in the dis-

POSTERBOY!: HAZARE’S SUPPORTERS AT INDIA GATE AND (BELOW) GOVINDACHARYA

United we are, divided we operate—India's fight against corruption

Yoga guru Baba Ramdev said that apeople's movement to liberate thecountry from rampant corruptionand build a strong spiritual

'Bharat' would be launched by him inJune. Baba Ramdev politically sug-gested that he supports the AnnaHazare movement but with a rid-er that no dynasties shall be pro-moted, ( he was referring to theinclusion of father son duo ofShanti & Prashant Bhushanin the Lokpal bill draftingcommittee )

He told journalists that af-ter tasting success in thefirst phase, it was decided tolaunch Bharat SwabhimanAndolan from Ujjain tocleanse the political system.The movement would bringsignificant change in the sys-tem as the crusade against cor-ruption would be in the form of'Satyagraha.' The Andolan wouldhave its network in over 600 dis-tricts across the country and a 'YuvaBharat' programme would also belaunched to attract youth for socialchange.

Baba Ramdev said one of the main ob-

j e c - tives of the movement was to bring aboutan end to corruption and bring back blackmoney stashed away in various financial

institutions in the country and abroad.He said currency notes of higher de-

nomination should be removedfrom the financial system to

bring about changes in elec-toral politics given the factthat present-day electionswere being held with blackmoney.

"The movement has al-ready set June as thedeadline for the govern-ment to withdraw circula-tion of currency notes ofhigher denomination," hesaid.

He said it was neces-sary to direct political par-

ties to declare assets of theelected representatives and

those in high places to bringtransparency.

nationalism and subtle Hindutva under-current in the discourse. "We are pro-Bharat

and pro-poor," said Abhishek, convener ofthe Rashtrawadi Morcha. The same ele-

ments had penetrated Hazare's agitation,which was visible in the rich saffron sym-bolism in the Bharat Mata framing thebackdrop of the platform and the havansbeing performed at the site.

The RSS had exhorted its cadre to joinHazare's movement and its general secre-tary Suresh Joshi had written a letter ofsupport to Hazare.

Yoga guru Ramdev, who has been work-ing with Govindacharya, delivered a speechfrom Hazare's platform to "hang the cor-rupt" and Hazare himself praised the HinduHriday Samrat Narendra Modi.

What it all added to was that the Hindutagroups, supported by the RSS, are gearingup for a second mass movement againstthe Congress based on corruption.

It is not irrelevant to mention here thatthe anti-Emergency movement led byJayaprakash Narayan in the 70s too had animportant strategist called NanajiDeshmukh and a side effect of that agita-tion was the political legitimisation of theRSS.


COVER STORY

SWADESHI BRIGADE: S GURUMURTHY

People's movement toroot out corruption

UNDER GURU’S GUIDANCE:BABA RAMDEV IS A DRIVING FORCEFOR ANTI-CORRUPTION BRIGADE

COMMENT


A Surya Prakash

The promise of bringing in an effective lawto curb corruption in the top echelons ofthe state should undoubtedly go down asthe biggest hoax played by the politicalclass on the people of India after inde-pendence. Every Government, from thedays of Jawaharlal Nehru to Mr ManmohanSingh, promised to establish an institutionto bring to book corrupt Ministers and MPs

and reneged on it.But, going by the statements of Mr

Manmohan Singh and Ms Sonia Gandhi af-ter the recent settlement with AnnaHazare, there can be no doubt that theCongress and the Prime Ministerhave taken deception to a new levelaltogether.

The first acknowledgement that the can-cer of corruption had begun to destroy thegreat gains of the freedom movementcame in the 1960s when the Santhanam

CELBRITY QUOTIENT: SHABANA AZMI AND URMILA

Great Indian Lok Pal trickIf the Congress hadbeen sincere aboutfighting corruption, itwould not have draft-ed a toothless LokPal Bill whose provi-sions are laughable

Santhanam Committee was appointedto assess the extent of the problem and tosuggest remedial action. This was followedby the report of the first AdministrativeReforms Commission which recommendedthe appointment of a Lok Pal to inquire intothe conduct of Ministers and MPs.

The farce vis-à-vis the Lok Pal Bill beganafter Mrs Indira Gandhi became PrimeMinister when her Government introducedit in the Lok Sabha in 1968, knowing fullywell that the Bill would lapse if the LowerHouse was dissolved prior to its passage inParliament. Sure enough, the Lok Pal Billfaced sudden death when Mrs Gandhi opt-ed for early dissolution of the Lok Sabha in1971. Since then, eight more half-heartedattempts have been made to legislate onthis issue in Parliament and on a majority of

these occasions, it was the Congress thatwas in power.

After all this humming and hawing forover four decades, the Lok Pal Bill proposedby the Manmohan Singh Government lastyear constitutes an affront to the intelli-gence of every citizen. Here, it must bemade clear that this draft had the tacit ap-proval of the Congress and the attempt todistance party president Sonia Gandhi fromit is as disingenuous as the attempts by theruling party to accuse Anna Hazare of re-sorting to "blackmail" and undemocraticmeans.

Instead of empowering the aam admi tocomplain against corrupt Ministers andMPs and arming the Lok Pal to go after thewrong-doers, the Government's draft Billseeks to protect the corrupt in a variety of


COMMENT

The farce vis-à-vis the Lok PalBill began after Mrs IndiraGandhi became Prime Ministerwhen her Government intro-duced it in the Lok Sabha in1968, knowing fully well thatthe Bill would lapse if theLower House was dissolvedprior to its passage inParliament. Sure enough, theLok Pal Bill faced suddendeath when Mrs Gandhi optedfor early dissolution of the LokSabha in 1971.

I have been witnessing the revolution at Jantar Mantar since 5April and have listened to responses on TV debates. TheExecutive and the legislature are worried about losing whatthey consider their rights and their exclusive space. One basicpremise of their responses runs as follows;

We are a democracy with a constitution and nothing can bedone or even attempted out side the constitutional frame work.Legislative, Judiciary and Executive alone can make laws,change the constitution, adjudicate constitutionaldisputes until it is amended and execute lawsthrough procedures and rules laid down by theexecutive. Civil Society and the citizen atlarge have no locus standi in decision mak-ing once they have sent their pseudo rep-resentatives to the legislature.

The following beg serious consideration.

1 Whose constitution is it ? Is it of WE THEPEOPLE or is it of they the legislature?2 Who is the sovereign ? The Citizen or the MP/ MLA or the PM / Cabinet?

FFoolllloowwiinngg ssuubbssiiddiiaarryy qquueessttiioonnss tthheenn aarriissee::

1 Does the legislature indeed represent the majority as shouldbe the case in a democracy? Most Win with 15 to 20 % of to-tal votes cast.2 Do the voting citizen have any say in selecting candidates?Does he have a real choice of selecting ? Parties allot ticketsthrough an opaque mechanism.3 Is the elected legislator free to work in the best interest ofthose who he pretends to represent? Or is he subservient toParty whip or his own political interest?4 What recourse does the voting community have to correct anerrant legislator who manages to get elected on promises heis neither sincere about nor capable of working for? Does thecommunity have the right to recall?

5 Does our democracy enable citizens to get laws they wishpassed? Is referendum not their right especially when their in-terests are obviously at variance from those of the elected leg-islators? Are we not stake holders in our own governance in ademocracy 'of the people for the people and by the people'?People as in the public and as in the Civil Society.

Our legislature has a vested interest in Corruption and pow-er of patronage. Are they our patrons or are they our ser-

vants? The question reverts to who is sovereign he orwe?

Anna's agitation as it is being termed is onlythe starting point for getting answers to thesevery basic questions in the public mind. Itcan not stop here because the root causesof the maladies of mis- governance andcorruption lie, not in the lok Pal Bill not be-ing in position. It lies with our ElectoralSystem, with our Party System indeed with

our democracy. The politician has to find hisrightful place as a servant of society who

must work for the common good of the major-ity and for the maximum good of the nation. His

own survival ( Not his best political interest ) mustbe co terminus with the best interest of the people of

India. To that end this movement must aim at rectification of our

democratic system. The constitution is sacrosanct only so far as it serves the in-

terest of the people who have adopted it for themselves.Despair and frustration have reached the stage where Peopledon't give a damn for being called a Democracy. They wouldrather exchange it with good governance with or without thefalse glory of being called the largest democracy in the world.

Long Live Veteran Anna HazareLong Live Veteran Solidarity with Anna.Veterans Will go all the way in supporting the Second War of

Independence from Corrupt Rule.

IT IS OUR DEMOCRACY THAT IS TO BLAMEFOR THE SORRY STATE OF INDIA

COMMENT


Bill seeks to protect the corrupt in avariety of ways, while simultaneously try-ing to intimidate complainants.

The Government's draft says the LokPal will only be an advisory body withoutany police powers or the power to regis-ter FIRs against the corrupt. Nor will theCBI be under it. Further, the Lok Pal willhave no power to initiate suo motu actionor receive complaints of corruption fromcitizens. It will be empowered to proceedonly if the Speaker of the Lok Sabha orthe Chairman of the Rajya Sabha (bothpolitical appointees) permit it to do so.And, after all this, the punishment forguilty politicians who swindle the ex-chequer of thousands of crores of ru-pees will be a minimum of six monthsand a maximum of seven years in jail.

As against this bogus Bill drafted bythe Government, Anna Hazare's 'Jan LokPal Bill' wants the Lok Pal to be an inde-pendent body like the ElectionCommission with suo motu

power to investigate complaintsagainst Ministers, MPs, judges and bu-reaucrats, to file FIRs and prosecute thecorrupt, and not be just an 'advisorybody'. Further, the 'Jan Lok Pal' will di-rectly receive complaints from peopleand act on them.

There is another major point of differ-ence. Mr Singh and Ms Gandhi do notwant the Lok Pal to have the power to in-vestigate the Prime Minister in regard to

foreign affairs, security matters and de-fence-related issues. Anna Hazare's draftmakes no such exception and rightly so.Bofors was a defence deal (purchase offield guns) in which Ottavio Quattrocchi,a friend of the Gandhi family, receivedcommission payments from the Swedishcompany.Obviously fearing a repeat of ascandal of such proportions, theGovernment does not want the Lok Pal toinvestigate defence deals.

The Government's draft Lok Pal Bill isalso so cleverly worded that everythingcan be classified as coming within thepurview of 'security matters' and thuskept out of the Lok Pal's scrutiny. For ex-ample, if we had a Lok Pal last year onthe lines proposed by the Government,the Prime Minister would in all probabili-ty have claimed that the Rs 1.76 lakhcrore 2G Spectrum scam was a 'securitymatter' that cannot be probed by the om-budsman.

There are other areas of divergencewhich are equally significant. Mr Singhand Ms Gandhi prefer to go soft on theculprits (jail term of six months to sevenyears) whereas Anna Hazare wants thejail term to be five years to life imprison-ment. Further, Anna Hazare says the lossto Government must be recovered fromthe accused. For example, if A Raja isheld guilty, then all his properties mustbe confiscated. Mr Singh and Ms Gandhido not want such a provision.

Finally, there is a clear attempt in theGovernment's draft Lok Pal Bill to scareaway complainants by saying that thosewho file false complaints will be pe-nalised and imprisoned. Anna Hazare'sBill is devoid of such intimidation.

All this is not to say that everything isfine with Anna Hazare's draft 'Jan Lok PalBill'. It has its flaws and hopefully thesewill get ironed out in the coming months.But, is it not ludicrous for Mr Singh andMs Gandhi, who are primarily responsi-ble for allowing Quattrocchi to walk awaywith the Bofors loot, to now claim thatthey are committed to a strong anti-cor-ruption law? Or for Congress loudspeak-ers to claim that the settlement withAnna Hazare is indicative of the "sagaci-ty and wisdom" of Ms Gandhi and MrSingh?

Even more laughable is the contentionof the 'Amul Baby' of the family (whosegreat grandfather, grandmother and fa-ther fooled the people into believing thatthey would bring a strong anti-corruptionlaw) that he too favours a strong anti-cor-ruption law. If so, what was he doing allthis while when his party andGovernment were circulating a draft LokPal Bill not worth the paper it was print-ed on?

It has been wisely said that you cannotfool all the people all the time. But this isone lesson that the Nehru-Gandhi dy-nasty will never learn.

MASS MOVEMENT: CANDLELIGHT VIGIL IN FRONT OF INDIA GATE


TERROR TRAIL

WORLD’S MOSTDREADED MAN IS DEAD

OBAMA FINALLY GETS OSAMA

By OECEL News Services

TERROR TRAIL


Osama bin Laden, the world's mostwanted terrorist, was killed early today byUS special forces in a helicopter-borne op-eration at Abbottabad near the Pakistanicapital, climaxing a over 10-year long mas-sive manhunt.

The special forces personnel swoopeddown on the compound where bin Ladenwas holed up guarded by his ultra loyalArab bodyguards in a pre-dawn operationkilling the dreaded terrorist, US officialssaid.

The news of the slaying of the world'smost prominent terror mastermind wasbroken to the world by US PresidentBarack Obama, who made the announce-ment live from White House."Bin Laden,54, is dead and his body is in US custody,"President Obama said at half past 11 mid-night US time after initial story had beenbroken by news channels.

Though it was dark, crowds massed out-side White House chanted 'USA,USA'.Besides the al-Qaeda chief who car-

ried a bounty of USD 25 million, two couri-ers one of whom was his son and the oth-er a woman, reportedly used as a humanshields, were killed in the operation, un-named American officials were quoted assaying by ABC News.

First reports said that it was throughthese couriers that bin Laden had beentraced.Other women and children presentin the compound were not harmed, ac-cording to Pakistani officials.

An American helicopter was destroyedby US Navy Seals after it was damaged andcrashed during the operation that targeteda large compound in Bilal Town area nearAbbottabad, 120 km fromIslamabad.There was no word from thePakistani government or military on theoperation.

Two US helicopters swept into the com-pound at 1:30 am and 2 am and 20 to 25Navy Seals under the command of theJoint Special Operations Commandstormed the compound in cooperationwith the CIA and engaged bin Laden andhis men in a firefight, US officials told ABCNews.

Bin Laden fired his weapon during thefight, the US officials said.The Americanstook bin Laden's body into custody afterthe firefight and confirmed his identity.Oneof the US helicopters was damaged duringthe operation and the troops decided todestroy it themselves with explosives.

Several Pakistani news channelsbeamed grainy footage of a burning heli-copter on the empty lawn of the com-pound.They also beamed footage of thecompound surrounded by Pakistani troopsthis morning. .

FOUNTAINHEAD OF TERROR: OSAMA BIN LADEN WITH HIS RANKS


When one of Osama binLaden's most trusted aidespicked up the phone lastyear, he unknowingly led USpursuers to the doorstep of

his boss, the world's most wanted terrorist.That phone call, recounted Sunday by a

US official, ended a years-long search forbin Laden's personal courier, the key breakin a worldwide manhunt. The courier, inturn, led US intelligence to a walled com-pound in northeast Pakistan, where ateam of Navy SEALs shot bin Laden todeath.

The violent final minutes were the cul-mination of years of intelligence work.Inside the CIA team hunting bin Laden, it

always was clear that bin Laden's vulnera-bility was his couriers. He was too smart tolet al-Qaida foot soldiers, or even his sen-ior commanders, know his hideout. But ifhe wanted to get his messages out, some-body had to carry them, someone binLaden trusted with his life.

In a secret CIA prison in Eastern Europeyears ago, al-Qaida's No 3 leader, KhalidSheikh Mohammed, gave authorities thenicknames of several of bin Laden's couri-ers, four former US intelligence officialssaid. Those names were among thou-sands of leads the CIA was pursuing.

One man became a particular interestfor the agency when another detainee, AbuFaraj al-Libi, told interrogators that when

TERROR TRAIL

HIDEOUT: OSAMA BIN LADEN’S HOME IN ABBOTABAD, PAKSITAN

A PHONE CALL THATTRACKED OSAMA

In a secret CIA prison inEastern Europe years ago,

al-Qaida's No 3 leader, KhalidSheikh Mohammed, gave

authorities the nicknames ofseveral of bin Laden's

couriers, four former USintelligence officials said.

Those names were amongthousands of leads the CIA

was pursuing.

TERROR TRAIL


for the agency when another detainee,Abu Faraj al-Libi, told interrogators thatwhen he was promoted to succeedMohammed as al-Qaida's operationalleader he received the word through acourier. Only bin Laden would have givenal-Libi that promotion, CIA officials be-lieved.

If they could find that courier, they'd findbin Laden.

The revelation that intelligence gleanedfrom the CIA's so-called black sites helpedkill bin Laden was seen as vindication formany intelligence officials who have beenrepeatedly investigated and criticized fortheir involvement in a program that in-volved the harshest interrogation methodsin US history.

"We got beat up for it, but those effortsled to this great day," said Marty Martin, aretired CIA officer who for years led thehunt for bin Laden.

Mohammed did not reveal the nameswhile being subjected to the simulateddrowning technique known as waterboard-ing, former officials said. He identifiedthem many months later under standardinterrogation, they said, leaving it onceagain up for debate as to whether the

harsh technique was a valuable tool or anunnecessarily violent tactic.

It took years of work for intelligenceagencies to identify the courier's realname, which officials are not disclosing.When they did identify him, he wasnowhere to be found. The CIA's sourcesdidn't know where he was hiding. BinLaden was famously insistent that nophones or computers be used near him, sothe eavesdroppers at the National SecurityAgency kept coming up cold.

Then in the middle of last year, the couri-er had a telephone conversation withsomeone who was being monitored by USintelligence, according to an American of-ficial, who like others interviewed for thisstory spoke only on condition of anonymityto discuss the sensitive operation. Thecourier was located somewhere away frombin Laden's hideout when he had the dis-cussion, but it was enough to help intelli-gence officials locate and watch him.

In August 2010, the courier unknowing-ly led authorities to a compound in thenortheast Pakistani town of Abbottabad,where al-Libi had once lived. The walls sur-rounding the property were as high as 18feet and topped with barbed wire.

TERROR TEAM: OSAMA BIN LADEN WITH TOP LEADERS OF AL QAIDA

Then in the middle of lastyear, the courier had a tele-phone conversation withsomeone who was beingmonitored by US intelli-gence, according to anAmerican official, who likeothers interviewed for thisstory spoke only on condi-tion of anonymity to dis-cuss the sensitive opera-tion. The courier was locat-ed somewhere away frombin Laden's hideout whenhe had the discussion, butit was enough to help intel-ligence officials locate andwatch him


18 feet and topped with barbed wire.Intelligence officials had known about thehouse for years, but they always suspect-ed that bin Laden would be surrounded byheavily armed security guards. Nobody pa-trolled the compound in Abbottabad.

In fact, nobody came or went. And notelephone or Internet lines ran from thecompound. The CIA soon believed that binLaden was hiding in plain sight, in a hide-out especially built to go unnoticed. Butsince bin Laden never traveled and no-body could get onto the compound with-out passing through two security gates,there was no way to be sure.

Despite that uncertainty, intelligence of-ficials realized this could represent thebest chance ever to get to bin Laden. Theydecided not to share the information withanyone, including staunch counterterror-ism allies such as Britain, Canada andAustralia.

By mid-February, the officials were con-vinced a "high-value target" was hiding inthe compound. President Barack Obamawanted to take action.

"They were confident and their confi-dence was growing: 'This is different. Thisintelligence case is different. What we seein this compound is different than any-thing we've ever seen before,'" JohnBrennan, the president's top counterter-rorism adviser, said on Monday. "I wasconfident that we had the basis to take ac-tion."

Options were limited. The compoundwas in a residential neighborhood in a sov-

ereign country. If Obama ordered anairstrike and bin Laden was not in thecompound, it would be a huge diplomaticproblem. Even if Obama was right, obliter-ating the compound might make it nearlyimpossible to confirm bin Laden's death.

Said Brennan, "The president had toevaluate the strength of that information,and then made what I believe was one ofthe most gutsiest calls of any president inrecent memory."

Obama tapped two dozen members ofthe Navy's elite SEAL Team Six to carry outa raid with surgical accuracy.

Before dawn Monday morning, a pair ofhelicopters left Jalalabad in easternAfghanistan. The choppers enteredPakistani airspace using sophisticatedtechnology intended to evade that coun-try's radar systems, a U.S. official said.

Officially, it was a kill-or-capture mis-sion, since the US doesn't kill unarmedpeople trying to surrender. But it was clearfrom the beginning that whoever was be-hind those walls had no intention of sur-rendering, two US officials said.

The helicopters lowered into the com-pound, dropping the SEALs behind thewalls. No shots were fired, but shortly af-ter the team hit the ground, one of the hel-icopters came crashing down and rolledonto its side for reasons the governmenthas yet to explain. None of the SEALs wasinjured, however, and the mission contin-ued uninterrupted.

With the CIA and White House monitor-ing the situation in real time - presumably

by live satellite feed orvideo carried by theSEALs - the teamstormed the com-pound.

Thanks to sophisti-cated satellite monitor-ing, US forces knewthey'd likely find binLaden's family on thesecond and third floorsof one of the buildingson the property, offi-cials said. The SEALssecured the rest of theproperty first, then pro-ceeded to the roomwhere bin Laden washiding. A firefight en-sued, Brennan said.

The SEALs killed binLaden with a bullet tothe head. Using the callsign for his visual iden-tification, one of thesoldiers communicatedthat "Geronimo" hadbeen killed in action,

according to a US offi-cial.

Bin Laden's body was immediately iden-tifiable, but the US also conducted DNAtesting that identified him with near 100percent certainty, senior administrationofficials said. Photo analysis by the CIA,confirmation on site by a woman believedto be bin Laden's wife, who was wounded,and matching physical features such asbin Laden's height all helped confirm theidentification. At the White House, therewas no doubt.

"I think the accomplishment that verybrave personnel from the United Statesgovernment were able to realize yesterdayis a defining moment in the war against al-Qaida, the war on terrorism, by decapitat-ing the head of the snake known as al-Qaida," Brennan said.

US forces searched the compound andflew away with documents, hard drivesand DVDs that could provide valuable in-telligence about al-Qaida, a US officialsaid. The entire operation took about 40minutes, officials said.

Bin Laden's body was flown to the USSCarl Vinson in the North Arabian sea, asenior defense official said. There, aboarda US warship, officials conducted a tradi-tional Islamic burial ritual. Bin Laden'sbody was washed and placed in a whitesheet. He was placed in a weighted bagthat, after religious remarks by a militaryofficer, was slipped into the sea about 2am EDT on Monday.

Said the president: "I think we can allagree this is a good day for America."

TERROR TRAIL

A YOUNG OSAMA ALONG WITH HIS SIBLINGS. PHOTO COURTESY THE SUN

FORUM


Mukul G Asher

As India embarks on long overduereforms of its tertiary and profes-sional education systems, includ-ing promotion of research culture in

the universities, there is merit in diversify-ing the partners with whom it seeks deep-er engagement in this area. India's in-creasing integration with the global econo-my, including emergence of Indian multi-nationals, also requires such diversifica-tion.

The US and the selectedCommonwealth and European countrieshave been India's traditional partners intertiary education and in innovation activi-ties. While engagement with them shouldcontinue to be deepened, as is evidentfrom ongoing India-US strategic dialogue,it is essential to accelerate such engage-ment with non-traditional countries suchas Japan, South Korea, and Brazil.

This column, however, focuses on the

case for deepening tertiary education andresearch engagement with Japan. The re-cent assumption of office by Japan's new

prime minister Naoto Kan and Japan's ef-forts to expand international linkages of itsuniversities provide a favorable backdropfor intensifying such partnership withJapan.

There are two broad factors which ne-cessitate such diversification. First, therehas been increasing globalisation of re-search and development and innovationactivities.

Thus a recent survey by the NationalScience Foundation (NSF) of the US foundthat American manufacturers conductabout a fifth of their total R&D in othercountries. Indeed, in several key sectors,such as motor vehicles, textile and appar-el, and electrical equipment, the offshoring share exceeds 30%. While relevantdata are not available, it is a reasonablepresumption that such tendencies are alsooccurring concerning other major econom-ic powers such as Japan, South Korea, andGermany.

Secondly, the current global economic

There are two broad factorswhich necessitate suchdiversification. First, therehas been increasing globali-sation of research and de-velopment and innovationactivities. Thus a recent sur-vey by the National ScienceFoundation (NSF) of the USfound that American manu-facturers conduct about afifth of their total R&D inother countries.

Energise India-Japan partnershipin tertiary education, innovation


Secondly, the current global economiccrisis has diminished medium term growthand employment prospects of the US, TheEuropean Union as a group, and the UK.India's rising share of working age popula-tion to total population strongly suggestsgeneration of livelihoods, including for in-creasingly educated workforce with highaspirations, as among the highest priori-ties. India therefore must explore all av-enues for such employment generation.Non-traditional sources, which are rapidlyageing, with Japan and south Korea ex-pected to register decline in absolute pop-ulation, therefore represent an attractiveopportunity.

India should therefore increasinglyleverage on countries with strong globalpresence of technology intensive compa-nies, and excellent university system withclose industry linkages. It is in the abovecontext that India must intensify its effortsto engage Universities and research insti-tutions in Japan, as well as R&D labs ofJapanese corporations.

Japan has increasingly emerged asamong India's most important economicand strategic partners. It is also the largest

bilateral provider of economic and techni-cal assistance. Japan is globally recog-nised as a leader in many areas such asautomotive engineering, life sciences,electronics, railways, solid waste manage-ment, and renewable energy. Its provencompetitiveness is based on excellent uni-versities, who have traditionally been en-gaged in close collaboration with industry,but whose international engagementshave so far been limited.

This is however changing, withUniversities introducing more courses inEnglish, and actively seeking foreign stu-dents who could form part of Japan's tal-ent pool. Japan's strength in close univer-sity-research institutions-industry linkageshas been an area of major weakness inIndia.

Separation of teaching and researchand of graduate and undergraduate edu-cation has not permitted realisation of syn-ergies of full fledged universities combin-ing teaching and research. Commerciallyoriented and socially useful research col-

COVER STORY

CLASS APART: TOKYO UNIVERSITY

India should therefore in-creasingly leverage oncountries with strong glob-al presence of technologyintensive companies, andexcellent university systemwith close industry link-ages. It is in the abovecontext that India must in-tensify its efforts to engageUniversities and researchinstitutions in Japan, aswell as R&D labs ofJapanese corporations.

FORUM


industry and universities and researchhas therefore been limited. This has ham-pered India's efforts to progress on thepath of becoming a knowledge economy.Deeper engagement with Japan could helpaddress this deficiency.

The Japanese government has set upseveral scholarship programs to attract for-eign students and to facilitate exchange offaculty and researchers. But Indian highereducation and research institutions, aswell as Indian's desiring to pursue highereducation abroad have not given requisitepriority to exploring opportunities with theircounterparts in Japan.

For the individuals, need to studyJapanese language have been considereda formidable barrier. This is however un-warranted and counter-productive, partic-ularly given deep cultural linkages be-tween India and Japan.Indians are gener-ally adept at languages, with most growingup with familiarity with at least two to threeIndian languages. The use of English hasalso become more widespread. Severalstates, such as Gujarat, have begun to pro-

mote English as a language essential forglobal commerce and science.While theseare steps in the right direction, importanceof non-English languages on the internet,and in commerce and science is expected

to grow as multi-polar world emerges.Functional knowledge of other major lan-guages, including Japanese, has now be-come more essential.

Acquiring such knowledge in Japaneselanguage takes about one year. This is arelatively small investment for widening ca-reer options for individuals, business op-portunities for firms, and for enhancing sci-entific and technological options for thecountry. Accessibility of Japanese lan-guage training needs to be expanded con-siderably in different parts of the country.

There are indications that Indian profes-sionals, particularly in the IT industry, andin engineering are exploring prospects withJapanese companies. Indians desiring towiden their higher education options arealso enrolling in tertiary institutions inJapan. But the trend needs to be signifi-cantly accelerated. Global operations ofcompanies from Japan, including theirgrowing presence in India, which is begin-ning to rival similar presence of companiesfrom South Korea, can be expected to pro-vide promising career prospects for

Acquiring such knowledgein Japanese language takesabout one year. This is a rel-atively small investment forwidening career options forindividuals, business oppor-tunities for firms, and forenhancing scientific andtechnological options forthe country. Accessibility ofJapanese language trainingneeds to be expanded con-siderably in different partsof the country.

IWATE UNIVERSITY


in India, which is beginning to rival sim-ilar presence of companies from SouthKorea, can be expected to provide prom-ising career prospects for Indians famil-iar with Japanese language and busi-ness culture.

To accelerate the trend, Indian uni-versities should consider collaborationswith Japanese universities as they seekglobal partners. Institutions such as StXavier's college in Mumbai, which areplanning to internationalise their cur-riculum, student assessment criteria,and management practices would alsogreatly benefit by collaborating withtheir Japanese counterparts, particular-

ly in science and technology. They couldalso consider establishing JapanCenters to facilitate such collaboration.

The states, such as Gujarat, whichannually organise global investors meet-ings, and which aim to emerge as glob-al business hubs, would particularlybenefit by initiatives to also inviteJapanese universities and research in-stitutions to such meetings. These couldbe utilised to link similar institutions inGujarat with their counterparts fromJapan; and to facilitate establishment ofresearch labs of Japanese corporationsin India.

Deeper engagement in tertiary edu-cation and in innovations will providegreater substance to India-Japan strate-gic partnership, and enhance economicspace and strategic leverage for bothcountries. India should also considerentering into totalisation agreementwith Japan, recognising social securityarrangements of each country. Similarly,an agreement to facilitate Indian work-ers to fill specific needs in Japan couldalso be considered.

(Writer is is professor, Lee Kuan YewSchool of Public Policy, National

JAPAN

Deeper engagement in ter-tiary education and in inno-vations will provide greatersubstance to India-Japanstrategic partnership, andenhance economic spaceand strategic leverage forboth countries. Indiashould also consider enter-ing into totalisation agree-ment with Japan, recognis-ing social security arrange-ments of each country.

The iconic face of India in Japan isformer Indian Ambassador to JapanMr Aftab Seth who is playing the roleof a catalyst to bridge the gap be-

tween unexplored land of opportunity forthe Indian Gen-Next. Mr Seth highlights thetremendous depth of Japanese corestrength that is yet to be tapped in India -Higher education.

Japanese universities as a general ruleoffer high class education at a price whichis less than private universities in the USA.State universities in Japan tend to be rea-sonable compared to top private ones likeKeio or Waseda founded by OkumaShigenobu in 1888.

The G-30 initiative by PM Fukuda in2008 is aimed at increasing the number offoreign students in Japan from the present130000 to 300000 by 2012. TheRitsumeikan office established in October2010 at the Japan Foundation building ispart of this initiative. Waseda has an office

in Vietnam and other Universities havebeen given responsibility for other territo-ries.

As part of this work we helped the G30in January 2011 to invite students from topschools in Delhi and other cities to attenda seminar addressed by the representa-tives of leading Japanese universities. I in-augurated this seminar. The purpose is toattract young talent to study in Japan. Thebenefit Indian students would derive fromsuch study are explained at such semi-nars. To make it easier some universitieslike Keio have started English mediumclasses at the Fujisawa campus whichteaches all high tech subjects such as IT,Energy, environmental science and others.Keio has a separate initiative GIGA whichaims to attract bright youth to study at theundergraduate level. Post graduateschools in many leading universities havebeen conducting their classes in Englishfor some years now. This is a trend that isgrowing.

Higher Education isJapan core strength that

made it a global techsuper power - Aftab Seth

AFTAB SETH WITH HIS WIFE

SPORT


Prakhar Mishra

Ahuge six to long on by CaptainMahendra Dhoni completed vic-tory for India in the 2011 CricketWorld Cup in style and brought to

a satisfying conclusion what has been atruly entertaining World Cup.India withoutdoubt played the best cricket over the lastsix weeks and the final against Sri Lankaproved a worthy contest, with tension, dra-ma and superb individual performancesplentiful.

India's talent has long been apparent,with stars such as Virender Sehwag,

Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan and, ofcourse, Sachin Tendulkar all proving them-selves world-class. But there was alwaysthe fear that they lack the mentality tobuild upon their obvious talent andachieve success at the World Cup.

This year though they showed suchdoubts to be wrong, displaying an assuredtoughness in victories over Australia,Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the knock-outstages.

That they defeated these three teams(arguably the three strongest teams afterIndia themselves) too proves them worthywinners.

India's talent has long beenapparent, with stars such asVirender Sehwag, HarbhajanSingh, Zaheer Khan and, ofcourse, Sachin Tendulkar allproving themselves world-class. But there was alwaysthe fear that they lack thementality to build upon theirobvious talent and achievesuccess at the World Cup

TENDULKAR BEING SHOULDERED BY TEAM INDIA

INDIA ON TOPINDIA DOMINATE CRICKET AREANA AFTER WORLD CUP VICTORY


SPORT

Much attention is placed on the incom-parable Sachin Tendulkar, who did have anexemplary tournament, ending it the sec-ond highest run scorer (behind TillakaratneDilshan). But their success has been a realteam effort, with match-winning contribu-tions being made throughout the squad.

Sehwag's 175 in the opening match wasthe tournament's highest score; ZaheerKahn took the joint highest number of wick-ets, at a devastating rate of 16.66 runs per-wicket; and, most noticeably, Yuvraj Singhbatted and bowled superbly throughout,ending with four man of the match awards.

And in the final, it was two players whohad so far had a quieter tournament,Gautam Gambhir and Dhoni, who put instar showings. When Gambhir came to thecrease India were in crisis, with Tendulkarout for 18 and India at a perilous 31-2. Butthe 29-year-old kept a calm head andscored a brilliant 97, most of them comingduring his 109 run match-winning standwith Dhoni.

Dhoni had surprisingly elevated himselfup to bat at five, ahead of the on-formYuvraj Singh, but his decision was justifiedas he made 91 not out of 79 to calmly bringhome victory for India.

For a long while beforehand the game re-

mained in the balance, as Sri Lanka battedtheir way to 183-5 and looked set to makea competitive score in the region of 250.But inspired hitting at the end of their in-nings led them to score 91 off the last 10overs, and set an imposing total of 274.

The cornerstone of their innings wasMahela Jayawardene, whose 103 off 88

balls deserved to be a match-winningknock. His elegant batting style was beau-tiful to watch, and came very quickly toothanks to a lethal acceleration in the last10 overs. He even ended Sri Lanka's in-nings not out, and, despite ending on thelosing side, probably deserved to be manof the match.

The wickets of Tendulkar and Sehwag atthe hands of the dangerous Lasith Malingaput Sri Lanka in a very strong position andstunned the home crowd into silence. ButGambhir and Dhoni's composed and excel-lent performances slowly put India backinto pole position, before Dhoni's on-drivesix saw them over the line. Such a greatgame was a welcome relief from the trilogyof thrashings Australia have dished out inthe previous three world cups.

The semi-finals too proved entertainingcontests. First Tuesday saw Sri Lanka com-plete what looked halfway through the sec-ond innings - with Sri Lanka 160-1 chasing217 - to be a routine victory, but whatproved, thanks largely to intimidating cap-taincy by Daniel Vettori, to be a tense finaleas New Zealand took three quick wickets.But with Thilan Samaraweera and AngeloMatthews at the crease Sri Lanka ultimate-ly steadied themselves and booked their

MAGIC MOMENTS: CAPTAIN DHONI CUP-WINNING SIX

And in the final, it was twoplayers who had so far hada quieter tournament,Gautam Gambhir andDhoni, who put in starshowings. When Gambhircame to the crease Indiawere in crisis, withTendulkar out for 18 andIndia at a perilous 31-2. Butthe 29-year-old kept a calmhead and scored a brilliant97, most of them comingduring his 109 run match-winning stand with Dhoni.

SPORT


finale as New Zealand took three quickwickets. But with Thilan Samaraweera andAngelo Matthews at the crease Sri Lankaultimately steadied themselves andbooked their place in the final.

Then the India v Pakistan took place, thetournament's most hotly anticipatedmatch. The contest did not disappoint, asthe first innings saw batting fireworks fromSehwag and Tendulkar (the latter despitebeing dropped multiple times) only foryoung Wahab Riaz to strike back with theball with a five-for.

Pakistan needed a difficult-but-obtain-

able 261 runs to win but fell short, failingto accelerate sufficiently at the end of theirinnings. The inexplicably defensiveMisbah-ul-Haq the main culprit and theywere bowled out for 231, with all five ofIndia's bowlers taking two wickets each -further evidence of their strength as a col-lective whole.

Looking back, the tournament was a farmore exciting affair than predicted. It stillhad structural problems, specifically theseemingly never-ending length of thegroup stages; but despite the inevitableone-sided affairs at the early stages, wehave England's unpredictable showings tothank for keeping the early stages inter-esting. The most memorable words of thenight came from Sangakara, the SriLankan skipper, who spoke like a greatambassador for his country, speakingwords worthy of his reputation, giving un-conditional praise to his opponents, andmaking every Sri Lankan proud by accept-ing defeat with graciousness and extend-ing no excuse, the sign of a truly greatcricketer. The quality of cricket, the close-ness of matches in the knockout stagesand India proving to be worthy championsensured this World Cup to be the best in re-cent years. The grand success of the WorldCup plus the IPL success saga has assuredthat India will remain the power house ofthe world cricket, a strategic shift from themecca of cricket - England. All the interna-tional players are rushing to India to asso-ciate themselves with Indian cricket toreap both practical and monetary benefits.

DHONI HITS MIGHTY BLOW

Looking back, the tourna-ment was a far more excit-ing affair than predicted. Itstill had structural prob-lems, specifically the seem-ingly never-ending length ofthe group stages...


SPORT

From the Guardian to the SydneyMorning Herald, captain coolMahender Singh Dhoni's captaincy is

being praised across the cricket playingworld. His decision to promote himself upthe order and bat under pressure, his cap-tain's innings 91 of 79 balls in the WorldCup final against Sri Lanka in Mumbai haveall come in for praise in the world media.

The Telegraph summed it up saying, 'theprolific Tendulkar may be India's nationaltreasure, but Dhoni is their modern icon'.

The Sunday Times wrote, "India's captainand his team take pressure in their strideon way to a famous triumph."

Heaping praise on the Men in Blue, TheAustralian wrote: "It was about two greatSouth Asian teams giving fans a thrilling,edge-of-the-seat One-day final and a de-served triumph for a cricketing nation whichfelt its time had come."

Here's what The New York Times had tosay: "The six-wicket victory on Saturday inthe World Cup final confirmed that India, in-contestably, has become cricket's dominant

nation, on and off the field".The Guardian said, "It seems inconceiv-

able that anyone but India should have tak-en the trophy."

Even Pakistan media, grudgingly, had togive it to the Indians. The Dawn wrote,"India's batting superiority in home condi-tions proved decisive. But more impressivewas their ability to win the battle of nervesin Mohali and Mumbai. And it was their cap-tain M.S. Dhoni, who epitomised that com-posure under duress. The World Cup be-longs to India but the victory belongs to MrDhoni."

Mahendra Singh Dhoni has got perhapshis biggest compliment: Sachin Tendulkar,the man everyone has been rushing to ded-icate the World Cup victory to, has de-scribed Dhoni as the best captain he hasever had.

"In all the years that I have been playing,Dhoni is the best captain I have played un-der," Tendulkar said today. "I think he is afabulous captain. He stayed calm, patientand at the same time very clever and alert."

Foreign Press sings Mahi tuneMahendra Singh Dhoni hasgot perhaps his biggestcompliment: SachinTendulkar, the man every-one has been rushing todedicate the World Cupvictory to, has describedDhoni as the best captainhe has ever had. "In all theyears that I have beenplaying, Dhoni is the bestcaptain I have played un-der," Tendulkar said today."I think he is a fabulouscaptain

SPORT


What Mahendra Singh Dhoni asCEO of the Indian cricketteam did to ensure the coun-try won the World Cup will be

etched as learnings for leaders across allwalks of life. Captains of India Inc, lead-ing business schools and HR leadershave taken note of Dhoni's style of man-agement.

Experimentative, innovative and risk-taking are some of the characteristics be-ing attributed to him. So what really isDhoni's management style? "He setsstretch goals and works determinedly toachieve them by getting the best out ofhis team," says Adi Godrej, chairman,Godrej Group, who has also taken on anew role as chairman of The IndianSchool of Business.

Dhoni is being described as 'a trueleader' who did not hesitate to push him-self up the batting order in the final, whenthe team needed him the most. "He ledthe attack from the front and was notafraid to make this change. He knew wellthat had he failed, he would have beenseverely criticized but yet he fearlesslytook up the challenge at a critical time inthe Indian innings," says Harsh Goenka,chairman, RPG Group.

Santrupt Misra, HR head, Aditya Birla

Group, on the other hand, lauded Dhonifor being experimentative-that is innova-tive and, at the same time, prepared toface the consequences. "He's inclusive,but at the same time when the momentof truth comes, he doesn't hesitate totake decisions."

And what does one learn from Dhoni'sleadership skills? "Take measured risksand back your team to deliver," said GunitChadha, CEO, Deutsche Bank India. "Aleader should maintain his calm. Heshould know his business well and takeappropriate decisions in changing con-texts," said Misra.

One could see how these characteris-tics came to the fore when, in a crisis sit-uation during the World Cup (India hadlost two crucial wickets of SachinTendulkar and Virender Sehwag in theearly overs), Dhoni kept his cool and ledIndia to victory. "Dhoni has been consis-tent match after match. He has stuck hisneck out and accepted his mistakes,"

said Deepti Bhatnagar, faculty,Organisational Behaviour, IIM-Ahmedabad. What's more, the captainsucceeded in building a team whereyoung people can come up with theiropinions. "In a situation where a muchyounger player like Virat Kohli can give hisopinion towards a senior player likeSachin without inhibitions itself speaksvolumes about the team culture," saidBhatnagar.

Nehra's comeback against Pakistan isanother good example of how Dhoni'sfaith in him paid off. As co-authors BillConaty and Ram Charan have said intheir book, 'The Talent Masters - Whysmart leaders put people before num-bers': "You can liberate your capacity andcourage as a leader if you continuallyplumb the depth of your inner core. Onlyby doing this can you understand the roleit plays in the changing complexities ofyour job." Dhoni has proved to be a smartleader.

Management lessonsfrom CEO Dhoni


Veelaas Kenjale

Mukesh Ambani-controlled RelianceIndustries Ltd (RIL) may be lookingat major forays into homeland se-

curity and aerospace sectors. In the firstfirm indication of the group's intention, ithas hired Vivek Lall, a former NASA scien-tist who aggressively led Boeing's militaryand commercial division in India for sever-al years.

Lall is joining RIL as president for a newventure which would be focused on home-land security and aerospace, sources said.A RIL spokesperson declined to comment.

According to market sources, Lall couldbe leading the new RIL venture with cut-ting-edge homeland security solutions.There is also speculation that the groupcould go further down and enter aero-space arena at an appropriate time, onesource said.

Reliance sources said Lall's appoint-

ment to pursue opportunities in the home-land security space is synergistic with thegroup's plans for broadband wireless ac-cess services. The group is expected to rollout the next generation technology servic-es soon. RIL is looking to develop safe andsecure smart cities as well as systems fordisaster management preparedness.

When Lall headed the Boeing commer-cial arm it won over $25 billion worth ofcommercial aircraft business in threeyears, and during the past four years whenhe headed defence, space and securitythe company scooped up almost $10 bil-lion worth of business in India.

into the security sector could have sig-nificant impact on the entire industry, giv-en the over-dependence of India on foreignsuppliers for security solutions. Homelandsecurity is a major growth sector, with na-tional security agencies and state policeforces on an unprecedented moderniza-tion drive.

There is also a major demand for home-land security solutions from the privatesector -- RIL itself is among the biggestconsumers of security solutions in thecountry.

RIL's entry into homeland and aero-space security could have a far bigger im-pact than the entry of Indian groups suchas Tata, L&T and Mahindra.

Lall is among the new breed of profes-sionals to join RIL from other companies. Afew years ago, the group had hired RRavimohan as executive to transform busi-ness processes from Standard & Poor's. Afew months into his new assignment,Ravimohan had died of a heart attack.

Other professionals who have joined thegroup in the recent past include ex-Citibanker V Srikanth and Gwyn Sundagulfrom Tesco Thailand. Srikanth was ap-pointed as deputy CFO in July 2010 whileSundagul heads the Reliance Value retailformat since December 2009.

BIZ TIME

RIL to enter homelandsecurity business

VROOM


Volkswagen, Europe's leading carmanufacturer unveiled the all-newPassat with the highly innovativeBlueMotion Technologies for India

today. The all-new Passat will be available to

customers in the diesel variant in both au-tomatic and manual transmissions, start-ing at 20.80 lakhs ex showroom Delhi from8 April, 2011. It will be available in all threetrim levels - Highline, Comfortline andTrendline.

Speaking about this new launch, Mr.Neeraj Garg, Member of Board andDirector, Volkswagen Passenger Cars,Volkswagen Group Sales India Pvt. Ltd.said, "We started our journey in India with

the introduction of the Passat in 2007, andthree successful years later it gives usgreat pleasure to bring the latest genera-tion to the market.

The all-new Passat will be exclusivelyavailable with BlueMotion Technologies inIndia and the distinctive innovations willwork together to achieve good fuel effi-ciency and reduced emissions without de-priving customers from the fun of driving.

It is a design into the future with up-graded comfort, convenience, quality andsafety, and more importantly cleaner andextremely fuel efficient."

Mr. Lutz Kothe, Head of Marketing andPR Volkswagen Group Sales Pvt. Ltd.added by saying, "The Volkswagen Brand's

The all-new Passat will beexclusively available withBlueMotion Technologies inIndia and the distinctive in-novations will work togetherto achieve good fuel efficien-cy and reduced emissionswithout depriving customersfrom the fun of driving. It is adesign into the future withupgraded comfort, conven-ience, quality and safety...

EVERYBODY’SBLUE-EYED BABY

VOLKSWAGEN UNVEILS THE ALL NEW PASSAT WITH BLUEMOTION TECHNOLOGIES IN INDIA


Ltd. added by saying, "The VolkswagenBrand's commitment to sustainability istranslated through the innovations of theBlueMotion Technologies. These efficienttechnologies have been implemented ina range of Volkswagen cars and areamong the cleanest and most fuel effi-cient in the world. The introduction of theall-new Passat further emphasizesVolkswagen Brand's commitment toIndia."

Best in Class Technologies: The Park Assist takes over during the

parking process and maneuvers the carinto any suitable parallel or perpendicu-

lar bay on its own. The new Attention Assist detects driver

fatigue and warns him/her with anacoustic signal and a visual message onthe instrument cluster recommending abreak from driving

The Acoustic Sound Lamination in thefront and rear windshields substantiallydampens the traffic noise from outsidefor a calm and pleasant cabin

Climate Seats with active ventilationand massage function for the driver andfront passenger to enhance driving com-fort

Vehicle OutlineExterior: The new front-end design

gives the all new Passat an even moredominant, high-class look which is rein-forced by the bi-xenon headlamps, alongwith rounded in-set headlamps and LEDdaytime running lights. Straight lines andcleanly sculpted surface is enhanced bya strong prominent C Pillar.

Interior: The all-new Passat is an epito-me of luxury and comfort with the finestquality material, perfectly colour-coordi-nated panels and distinctively designedinstrumentation that is effortless to read.Now available with electronic parkingbreak, keyless entry and start options,the all new Passat emits a pure sense ofluxury.

VROOM

Excerpt from an interview with CTO VW India with our technology correspon-dent CAPT VINAY GOYAL..

1. New Passat is promoting bluemotion technology, what is blue technology &elaborate VW strategy behind this specific initiative?

BlueMotion Technologies are a whole range of innovations and refinementsthat help to save fuel and money, without taking the fun out of driving. They arethe efficient technologies in our cars, which reduce CO2 emissions significantlyand are one of the contributions of Volkswagen to the protection of the environ-ment.

2. New Passat is priced with Merc C series and BMW 3 series, how VW is con-fident of overcoming the stiff challenge?

We would not like to compare models, however we know that we have an ex-cellent product for the market and the all-new Passat will be well accepted by ourcustomers. In fact, the all-new Passat offers good value thanks to its optimizedfeatures, whereas the same features are offered in cars in the segment aboveand available at a much higher price.

3. The current slow-ddown of Japan car industry due to recent earthquake hasprovided an opportunity for major players like VW to increase its market share inIndia, any specific short term strategy to expand VW brand in India?

We will continue to focus on our current strategy to further establish the Brandin the market.

BlueMotionTechnologies

BlueMotion Technologies is a range ofinnovations and refinements that repre-sent the cleanest, most energy efficientcars in the Volkswagen range. Theseare technologies that work together toachieve fuel efficiency and reduce emis-sions without taking the fun out of driv-ing.

The all-new Passat comes to India witha range of BlueMotion Technologies:

TDI Engine: A 2.0L CR TDI engine withan output of 170PS and torque of 350NM @ 1750-2500 rpm offers abundanttorque, outstanding power output whileassuring low fuel consumptionAuto Start-Stop System: The efficientStart-Stop technology cuts emissionsand saves fuel by automatically switch-ing off the engine when waiting in traffic,and starts automatically when the driverwishes to resumeBrake Energy Recuperation:Recovers and recycles energy normallylost during braking, thereby saving fueland cutting emissionsDSG Dual Clutch Gearbox: Combinesthe comfort and convenience of an au-tomatic transmission with the efficiencyand performance of a manual gearbox.Rapid and precise gear changes are thekey advantages of this gearbox over au-tomatic ones, besides ensuring higherfuel efficiency and reduction of carbonemissions. For those who still wish tochange gears manually the tiptronic shiftfunction makes it possible too.Gear Shift Indicator: An intelligent gearshift prompt that is available in the man-ual transmission that leads to significantreduction in fuel consumption

Indian artistcan be a

global icon:Monika Gaba


Q. You have a unique exposure of working in Hollywood andBollywood, what is the basic work difference between the twoplaces?

A. Having worked on both Hollywood and Bollywood projects,I've noticed Indian films are made at a much faster pace. Thescenes are shot and wrapped up quickly, in comparison, hencethe high volume of Bollywood releases every year. The other dif-ference is the content spread. For example, a conventional Hindimovie will have a little bit of all life elements in a single film. Somecomedy, drama, romance, music and action, all sewn into one sto-ry. On the other hand, Hollywood tends to stick to one genrethroughout a given film. It's either a comedy or action throughout,more or less.

Q. How is an Indian artist taken up in a pure Hollywood envi-ronment?

A. Hollywood is currently a fruitful environment to be in for anIndian actor. There are a lot of projects being made with leads andsupporting parts for the East Indian ethnicity. And it doesn't stopthere. Since we have physical similarities with the Latin American,Spanish, Middle Eastern, and Greek/mediterranean looks, anIndian artist can easily cross over to those parts as well. The in-dustry here takes very well to ethnic actors and is open-minded,and even excited, about the possibility of seeing someone "differ-ent" in a project.

Q. Your favorite Hollywood and Bollywood artists?A. My favorite artist in Bollywood is Shahrukh Khan. He is an

original and he carries the same magnetism off-screen that hehas on-screen. Amongst the Hollywood circle, my favorites areRussell Crowe, Kristen Stewart, Ben Stiller and the new successJessie Eisenberg.

Q. Tell us about your dream project that you would like to do inBollywood and Hollywood?

A. In Bollywood - I would love to see an action film with a femalelead, in the vein of "Salt", "Tomb Raider"or "Kill Bill". That would bea dream project for me, and also something I have not seen yet inIndian cinema. In terms of filmmakers, Madhur Bhandarkar,Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Vidhu Vinod Chopra pop into my mind,immediately. They have very strong female roles without compro-mising the character's femininity.

In Hollywood- There are so many fantastic projects and film-makers here. I love pushing my boundaries as an actor. I gear to-wards material that is edgy, but I recently worked on a comedywhich was a blast. The next one may be action, maybe a musical.So I can't wait for the next surprise.

(Inputs from Arnab Kar, Fashion correspondent based in USA)

FASHION

VITALSTATS

Gender: FemaleHeight: 5 feet 8 inWeight: 120 lbsPhysique: SlimHair Length: LongEyes: BrownVoice Type: Alto

FILMS

Son of Morning, TheGoddess, Hothead entertain-ment/Yaniv Raz, Dostana,Anaita Dharma, Karan Joharproduction, Vale Tudo,Ringo's girlfriend, DevonMedia Group, Infinite, Sara,79 Productions, Full GrownMen, Neighbor, DavidMunro/Grottofilms, SushiBar, Amelia, Lost CauseProductions/Thiago LimaProduction

TELEVISIONUntitled Jamie Foxx ComedySketch, Fashion Model, FoxTV,MTV Video Music Awards,Opening Video-Live TeleCastMTV, South Beach(TVSeries), Runway Model,Jennnifer Lopezproduction(UPN), ModelSeason(TV Series), Monika(asherself), Plum TV

Performance Skills: Singing,Dancing

Spoken Languages: English,Hindi, UrduMusical Instruments: GuitarDance: Belly, Club/Freestyle

AWARDSDulce Art Awards/TheatreInstitute of South Florida,Nominated-Best breakthroughperformance, 2007Nominated by the TheatreInstitute of South FloridaThe Emmys 2009 (regional-suncoast), Nominated Bestentertainment/documentary

POST SCRIPT


GUYANA'S PRESIDENTJAGDEO CONFERRED WITH

INDIAN DOCTORATE DEGREEGuyana's President Bharrat Jagdeo was conferred with the Doctor

of Literature by the Padmashree Dr. D. Y Patil University in Mumbaiat its Annual Convocation ceremony on February 8, 2011. The uni-

versity is part of the D. Y Patil Group, one of the largest groupsin India in the area of private education with over 100

educational institutions with over 100,000 stu-dents covering a range of disciplines. Along

with President Jagdeo, there were two otherrecipients: Professor M. S Swaminathan

who lauded the important contributionGuyana has been making towards sus-tainable forest management and offer-ing lessons that can serve as a globalexample for other forest countries. Theother recipient was Dr. Makarand

Jawadekar, former executive of Pfizerglobal research and development who re-

ceived a Doctor of Science.

TWO INDIAN AMERICANS NAMED2011 FELLOWS BY SKADDEN FOUN-

DATION

Two Indian Americans, Sushil Jacob and Devi Rao are among the29 candidates named as Fellows by the Skadden FellowshipFoundation for the year 2011.Jacob is with the East Bay CommunityLaw Center in Berkeley, California and advocates to advance greencommunity economic development by providing free, comprehen-sive legal services to low-income entrepreneurs.

Rao seeks to improve protection against gender-based bullyingand preventing and remedying such harassment by seeking en-hanced enforcement of Title IX, in collaboration with school districtsand advocacy groups. Rao works with the National Women's LawCenter in Washington.

JAY BHANDARI APPOINTED TO FAIR-

FAX, VIRGINIA COUNTY ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Prominent Indian American community activist and GOPIONorthern Virginia President, Jay Bhandari, has been appointed byFairfax (Virginia) County Chairman of the Board of Supervisors,Sharon Bulova, in Citizens Advisory committee onReapportionment of the Board of Supervisors. Mr. Bhandari willrepresent the Asian Pacific Islander community. This committeewill plan and advise the Board on redistricting options. Mr.Bhandari is the only person in 19 members committee from theIndian American community.

Jay Bhandari has been a successful community activist andpolitical leader for the Indian community in numerous capacities.He is the immediate past President of Association of UnitedHindu & Jain Temples of Metro Washington, which is a congre-gation of 15 Temples in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington DC.

He is also director of Indian Cultural Coordination committee andChairman Public Relations committee of the Jain Society of MetroWashington area. He has also served as President of Jain Societyof South Florida (2001-2002).

Mr. Bhandari has organized several successful big events in-cluding largest Diwali Mela of the decade in 2009, Grand HindiKavi Sammelan in Metropolitan Washington area in 2010. Otherevents organized include: Republic Day, Independence Day,Diwali celebration, Holi Mela or Community picnic.

SHASHI RUIA NAMEDBUSINESSMAN OF THE YEAR

GOPIO Life Member Shashi Ruia has been named asBusinessman of the Year at the 29th Business India Awardevent. Shashi Ruia, Chairman, Essar Group, is a first gen-eration entrepreneur industrialist. He has made invaluablecontributions toward strengthening the core and infra-structure sectors in India and has steered the EssarGroup to a premier position in global industry.Mr Ruia has masterminded the group'sbusiness strategy and consolidated arange of activities through back-ward and forward integration. Thishas enabled the group unleashunique synergies across itsbusinesses.

Today, the Essar Group is amultinational conglomerateand a leading player in the sec-tors of Steel, Oil & Gas, Power,Communications, Shipping,Ports & Logistics, Projects andMinerals. With operations in morethan 20 countries across five conti-nents, the Group employs 60,000 people,with revenues of USD 15 billion. Mr Ruia is also onseveral important national bodies and industry associa-tions, including the Federation of Indian Chambers ofCommerce and Industry (FICCI) the Indo-US Joint BusinessCouncil and the Indian National Ship Owners Association(lNSA).

In 2007, Mr Ruia joined an elite list of achievers who willindependently fund The Elders, a group of world renownedpersonalities who have joined hands to tackle the world'smost difficult problems. Widely regarded as one of the ar-chitects of modem India, Shashi Ruia has a passion for ed-ucation and mentoring young talent.

AN UNPRECEDENTED PEOPLE’S MOVEMENT PUTS SPOTLIGHT … · 2020. 8. 30. · Vol 20 I No 5 May 2012...

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Transcript of AN UNPRECEDENTED PEOPLE’S MOVEMENT PUTS SPOTLIGHT … · 2020. 8. 30. · Vol 20 I No 5 May 2012...