Daily Excelsior... Editorial

EDITORIAL

Conviction of former Prime Minister in the JMM bribery case together with the former Home Minister Buta Singh proves that none is above all howsoever high and mighty. It shows resilience of our democratic order as also soundness of the judicial system. True, it has consumed seven years to prove the guilt resulting in conviction. It is equally true that the legal battle is not over in as much as the sentence is yet to be pronounced on October 11 and that preparations for filing appeal in the High Court are already on. There is no denying the fact that if High Court confirms the sentence, appeal would be preferred to the Apex Court. In other words the real legal battle would take many more years.......more

PETRO HIKES

Human Rights and Terrorism

K.N. Pandita
While human rights is a recent concept, terrorism is an old phenomenon. The UN drew the ...more

Ensuring accountability
of teachers

By Vishiesh Verma
It would be nothing short of an act of self deception if anyone or any-body ......more

West Bengal : The
Left Front on notice

By Sondip Bhattacharya
The Left Front enjoys an absolute majority in the West Ben-gal assembly. The Bharatiya Janata Party led National ......more

SPOTLIGHT
US body highlights faces
of intolerance in Pak, India

From B L Kak

The US Commission on International Religious Freedom has finally called a spade a spade, after picking up Pakistan and India as its subjects. And the spotlight,........more

EDITORIAL

LANDMARK JUDGEMENT

The conviction establishes the oft-repeated charge that political corruption is at the root of all ills that afflict the nation. If the Prime Minister himself indulges in corrupt practices to safeguard the musical chair and/or for prosperity of the kins, it is bound to percolate to the lower rungs. It also shows the abysmal depth to which morality and other values have sunk in the Indian polity. Those who deliver sermons and claim to be 'Holier than thou' are indeed responsible for widespread corruption in all walks of life and in every activity. To retain the gaddi, Congress Party has gone to the extreme. In retrospect it is mentioned that after the 1991 Lok Sabha polls Congress was the largest single party with 228 MPs whereas simple majority required at least 273 MPs. Since it was the largest single party, the then President of India invited Narasimha Rao to form the Government. The shrewd politician in him succeeded in obtaining the silent support of Bharatiya Janata Party in the initial stages to ensure survival of the minority Government. Subsequently, Narasimha Rao went about causing defections mainly in Janata Dal and within a year or so was able to muster the support of about 258 MPs. That was the stage when anti-BJP elements in the Congress succeeded in convincing Narasimha Rao to dump BJP and go alone. It was then that a Motion of No-Confidence was moved and was to be voted on July 29, 1993. Sans BJP support, Congress was still short of the simple majority and badly needed the support of a dozen odd MPs. It was then that conspiracy was hatched to buy the most vulnerable and gullible MPs of various parties. For this, team of trouble-shooters in the Congress was asked to go full throttle or else face the prospect of mid-term poll. The brief was to buy them at any cost.

While Ajit Singh group of the Janta Dal sided with Narasimha Rao but he has been acquitted by the Court. As far as support obtained from JMM MPs is concerned, it has been established that they were paid Rs 50 lakh each and the amount stood depositee in Punjab National Bank Naoroji Nagar branch in New Delhi. The four MPs could not explain asto wherefrom this amount came until one of the accused MPs namely Shailendra Mahato turned approver and spilled the beans. It is this evidence, seizure of PNB accounts and records of entry and exit at the PM's premises that has established the cospiracy angle as also under the prevention of corruption act. Buta Singh had personally escorted the MPs for one to one meet with the Prime Minister. Those given the benefit of doubt include former Minister Capt Satish Sharma and Ajit Singh besides former Chief Ministers Bhajan Lal of Haryana and Moiley of Karnataka. They were the go-betweens to arrange the things but lack of sufficient evidence of their involvement results in their acquittal. They have all welcomed the judgement and reposed full faith in the judiciary. But those convicted are silent. Buta Singh says whatever he did was done for the party, the Congress party which he still represents in Lok Sabha.

The entire case was built around complaint lodged by Rashtriya Mukti Morcha President Ravinder Kumar on January 1, 1996 i.e. 2½ years after the actual bribes were paid. CBI registered case against Narasimha Rao on orders from High Court. Subsequently, He alongwith Bhajan & Moiley appealed to Supreme Court seeking constitutional immunity under Article 105. The Court ruled that Article 105(2) provides for immunity to bribe takers as their act involved voting in Parliament but not the bribe givers. So Narasimha Rao and Buta stand convicted for conspiracy and under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

It may be mentioned that Narasimha Rao faces some more cases like the St. Kitts case. He was also accused of accepting Rs 1 crore by the seasoned broker Harshad Mehta. Incidentally the largest financial scam has reached cul-de-suc. Deputy Director of CBI who was enquiring this scam was shown the door and witch hunted when his investigations led to the top-brass. It may also be mentioned that Bombay chain blasts occurred on March 12, 1993. The case was taken away from the Bombay police and handed over to CBI exactly when the needle started pointing towards the Congress top brass both in Mumbai and New Delhi. The Bofors case which involved kickbacks of 63 crore continues to hang around even though it is more than 13 year old. Here the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was allegedly accused of being the end user. God alone knows when the truth would surface even when documents have been provided by the Swiss Government indicating the conduits of kick-backs and the connections of those people with 10 Jan Path-Quattarochi, Win Chadda, Hindujas etc. One can as well mention another former Prime Minister who acquired large farm house in Haryana in quite disregard of the rules. Here too courts had to give directions to vacate the illegal possessions.

This conviction of the former Prime Minister is thus an eye- opener that the law could tighten its noose even on the highest executives, time consumed by legal formalities notwithstanding. If the sentence is more than 3 years the accused would be arrested then and there. If however it is less than 3 years, Narasimha Rao and Buta Singh can be bailed out and appeal to the High Court within a month.

PETRO HIKES

The inevitable has happened. Massive hikes in prices of all petro products namely diesel, petrol, kerosene, LPG and ATF have been announced. These hikes would result in mopping up around Rs 8000 crore. The remaining oil pool deficit of Rs 15000 crore would be met by issuing oil bonds and reducing excise and import duties on petro-products. This means only one-third of the total burden has been passed onto the consumers. At this stage one has to look at the hikes from two different angles. First, the people would be burdened. Many items would become costlier including travel by bus/trains. Goods transported by them would also cost more. Together inflation rate would increase between 1 to 2 percentage point with all the concomittant results. As usual there would be hue and cry from all sides, opposition parties and all those who shy away from economic compulsions and go for political expediency.

Viewed from the second angle, these hikes were overdue for any economy to survive. With burgeoning deficit at whopping Rs 23000 crore, major oil companies were left with no money to buy sufficient crude from abroad. The Government could not have bailed them out beyond this level. Strictly in economic terminology, high deficit is the greatest villain and its curtailment or elimination indicates healthy economy. Since source prices of crude oil have increased three fold during the last 18 months and imports have to be maintained to meet demand, the Government had no option but to hike the prices even though it hurts the common man deep enough.

Human Rights and Terrorism

K.N. Pandita

While human rights is a recent concept, terrorism is an old phenomenon. The UN drew the Human Rights Charter only after Nazi pogroms of the Jews in World War II took place.

However two decades of intense debate have not yielded a consensual definition of terrorism at the UN and its bodies like the Human Rights Commission. The issue has been politicised.

One man’s terrorist is another man’s hero. Osma is a terrorist for the Americans but he is a hero for his Al Qaida. Same is true of Yasser Arafat and Fiedel Castro. The definition of terrorism will continue to be elusive, uncertain and politically oriented.

Whatever the western scholars may say about the rise of terrorist phenomenon, the Asian and African historians think it as a reaction to imperial and colonial domination. The big powers make Human Rights a stick to beat their adversaries with while they escape scot-free when themselves involved in human rights. Americans wrought havoc in Vietnam but they clamour for human rights in Taiwan and East Timor.

Americans poured billions of dollars worth arms and ammunition into Afghanistan via Pakistan. Ten years of fighting followed by a fratricidal war has consumed one third of Afghan population. Half of the remaining population is maimed and crippled. Who is the terrorist?

The latest form of terrorism is state-sponsored terrorism. States have political goals to achieve. Having floated terrorism, they take shelter behind deniability because they operate by proxy. Big powers have a stake in most of the states that sponsor terrorism. But while they have a stake, they concoct stories to throw dust into the eyes of the world. Nobody is talking about what the NATO forces did unilaterally and without Security Council’s permission in Yugoslavia, an independent country. But everybody is talking about the alleged violation of human rights by the Russians in Chechnya, a unit of the Russian Federation. When Iraq marched its forces into Kuwait ten years ago, the US and the Western powers pressed into action their land, sea and air power to throw Iraqi troops out of what the later called its province. But when the British naval and land forces attacked and subjugated Falkland Islands, not an eyelid beat. Falkland Islands were thousands of miles away from the British shore while Kuwait was contiguous to Iraq.

There is the talk of the rise of Islamic terrorism. Iran was provided arms by the US and Israel to fight a ten-year war against her neighbour Iraq. But then as many as thirty five resolutions have been brought against the same Iran by the US and Israel at the United Nations Human Rights Commission condemning the theocratic regime of Ayatollahs for the alleged violation of human rights.

While Iran continues to be targeted, not a single resolution has been brought against Turkey, which has not only denied but brutally suppressed the civil, political and human rights of millions of Kurds. The Kurds are Muslims of Sunni faith as are the most of the people in Turkey. Kurds are located in a region that forms part of the territories of Iraq, Iran and Turkey. None of these three Muslim countries is prepared to give the 23 million Kurds their homeland. Yet they vote in favour of resolutions in OIC demanding the right of self - determination for 3.5 million Kashmiris. The OIC beats its breast for the "victims" in Kashmir, but it is tight-lipped in regard to Abdallah Ocelan, the outstanding Kurdish PKK leader. No country and no NGO moved any resolution in the UN Human Rights Commission.

The cliché of human rights and terrorism should not mislead us. The entire world castigated China for the Tienanmin Square massacre. The US led the castigating campaign. But today the US has accorded China the status of a MFN for trade relations. At the same time she continues to impose sanctions on Iraq with the result that three thousand newly born babies in that country die every month for want of milk and necessary medicines. The US has imposed an embargo on the import of essential goods. Who is the terrorist and who is the victim. Let us be fair.

Yet the US is the loud-mouthed protagonist of human rights. The annual report of the US State Department is taken as gospel truth to throw dust into the eyes of the world. Twice did Amnesty International apologise to the Government of India for publishing false and fabricated reports about so-called atrocities in Kashmir when various NGOs at the UNHRC confronted it? I myself confronted them once on the floor of the UNHRC in Geneva. Yet the Amnesty International is given special respect by that body.

Nearer home, the NHRC rejected the demand of the exiled community of Kashmiri Pandits to declare them Internally Displaced Persons after the parameters of UNHRC’s definition of the term. Had the numerical strength of the Pandits been good enough to return one or two parliament members, the NHRC would have a different verdict for them.

Asma Jehangir of Pakistan and now a functionary of the UNHRC had been charged with alleged murder because she raised the issue of "honour killing" in Pakistan. Pakistani press has disclosed nearly 300 "honour killings" of young women. The State of Pakistan has no qualms of conscience on the brutal violation of the fundamental of human rights, viz. the right to life.

Terrorism is the creation of political entrepreneurs on world scene. Osamas and Mast Guls rise and fall in relation to the utility they serve to their creators. Religious terrorism is receiving state support. Religious militias give the governments the scope of deniability, and gradually replace regular men in olive green. Kargil is an example. Ethnic, linguistic or religious frenzy is fuelled to serve political ends. We in Kashmir had the Gujjars as a backward segment of society and laws were enacted to alleviate their lot. But now Pahari ethnic segment has been carved to dilute the collective strength of Gujjars. There could be more ethnic groups and identities as suite the rulers. Divide and rule is the inexhaustible axiom followed by men in authority from times immemorial. The most popular slogan to which ruling circles have adhered to in the past and will do so in future is the one given by Chairman Mao. Viz. "Power flows from the barrel of the gun". As long as this adherence is in place, human rights will continue to be the showpiece of big entrepreneurs on the world stage. And the UN is the handmaid of big powers, to say the least.

(The End)

Ensuring accountability of aeachers

By Vishiesh Verma

It would be nothing short of an act of self deception if anyone or any-body believes that all is well with our higher education.

The millenuim's first Teacher Day (5th September) was celebrated by dozens of teachers' unions -- under different banners - expressing their discontentment against the Govt by organizing their discontentment against the Govt by organizing demonstrations and courting arrest. On the other hand Govt. wants to get teachers performance evaluated and ensure accountability.

Everytime there is a pay commission it invariably tries to tage the enhanced salary to certain conditions. This is done with an intention to ensure better qualitative changes in the higher education scenario. The minute details of implementing the enhanced scale of pay are worked out carefully, checked, rechecked both by the authorities and recipient teachers, both taking utmost care in every possible detail. However neither of these two, pay equal importance on the other side of it --- the need for quality assurance and the accountability of the teachers. As a result teaching profession is left without any meaningful evaluation and the concept of accountability has in phase completely evaporated into the thin air not leaving behind even a faint fragrance.

The teachers on the day of joining a college or a university are sure that they will be confirmed irrespective of their performance and once a teacher is promoted as professor he reaches on an academic summit and there is an end of his further responsibilities. Thanks to the merit promotion scheme of UGC which assured teachers' promotion at the regular intervals after some formalities of interview etc. were completed. Many teachers make money by tuitions more than an IAS officer or business executive. Their standing in the profession is determined by their seniority rather than by their teaching or by the results of their students. They don't correct assignments or tests of the students, neither they face the questions in the classroom from the studnets regarding their difficulties. The system gives freedom to the teachers to teach as much or as little they like. Above all the teachers are free of the fear of being assessed by their students or their seniors.

Some of the mechanism introduced to improve the quality of higher education were UGC decision.

* To appoint only those candidates as teachers who had passed NET (National Eligibility Test). It didn't work, since most of the States modified UGC directive to the extent that at present there are not more than one or two percent teachers with NET clearance.

* Establishment of Academic Staff Colleges. There are 45 Academic Staff Colleges, the UGC spends about Rs. 30 lakh on each college per annum but the performance of these colleges itself lacks accountability. There is no set curriculum before these colleges. The resource persons give lectures on the topics of their choice to a captive audience which is there to listen to whatever they say, since they had been paid TA/DA by the UGC. The resource persons are under no obligation to see that the lectures they deliver are followed. It doesn't matter whether the topics they select are relevant to the needs of these teachers. It is not obligatory for the teachers to attend all the lectures, even if they miss some or most of them, it makes no difference in getting their certificates issued required for next promotion.

For the last three decades all the committee appointed to suggest reforms in higher education had recommended the regular evaluation of teachers performance and ensuring their accountability. In 1971 S R Sen committee while recommending the higher pay scales had added the need for code of (Professional Ethics) to be made part of it. Pay scales were revised but this part could not be implemented.

In 1986, National Policy of Education had recommended for "Annual Performance Appraisal" of the teachers of colleges and universities. 1987 Mehrotra Committee too stressed the need for compulsory annual submission of 'performance appraisal' (an assessment of the performance of teachers which would encourage their accountability). The UGC involved representatives of All India Federation of College and University Teachers Association and they prepared two different formats of performance appraisal, one for the teachers of Arts and Science Colleges and other for Teachers of professional colleges. Besides the committee recommended:-

"Annual submission of Performance Appraisal Report by the teachers." Their performance should be evaluated by students".

Reastogi committee: I) Rejected the idea of Merit Promotion and suggested introduction of student evaluation of the teachers 3) compulsory annual submission of Performance Appraisal Report. 4) The recommendations of Mehrotra Committee instead of being suggestions should become UGC regulations.

In Dec ' 1988 UGC issued a notification regarding 'Accountability in Higher Secondary Education for all the universities that;

Self Appraisal Performance of the teachers is to be made mandatory part of career advancement scheme of new pay scales and be implemented within a year alongwith the work load of teachers not less than 40 hours a week with 180 teaching days in an academic session and teachers should be made available himself/herself for at least five hour daily in the department.

Mr. S. S. Rathi, President of Delhi University Teachers Association (the largest such body in the city) reacted, "we very much stand for the accountability but of entire university system as a whole which includes teachers, students, karamcharis as well as administrators."

Mr. Kapil Kumar, President FEDCUTA (Federation of Central Universities Teachers Association) echoed the same views, "What about the code of conduct for Vice-Chancellors? In the last one year at least 12 of them have been caught either violating statutes or indulging in financial irregularities and fake degrees rackets. He adds Vice-Chancellors, Principals, Directors, indulge in all kinds of malpractices during appointments of teachers and when these teachers don't work, they blame to whole teachers' community. Ninety percent of the teachers who don't work are on the best terms with Vice-Chancellers or Head of the Deparments /Directors who don't initiate any action against them.

Mehrotra Committee and Rastogi Commission both strongly recommended students evaluation of teachers. It touched the raw nerves of college and university teachers throughout the length and breadth of the country and they opposed it strongly. Why should it be opposed when politicians are assessed by the voters, doctors and lawyers are assessed by their clients, bureaucrats are assessed by their seniors even a businessman is assessed by his customers, why teachers shouldn't be assessed by their students. What to talk of this practice in other advanced countries, the best institution of our country 'St Xavier College Mumbai (according to the recent survey) allows its students to assess their teachers. They are the best people to give empirical feedback. Introducing students evaluation of their teachers in the colleges and universities will ensure truant teachers don't bunk classes but also contribute towards the long cherished but never achieved dream of improving teaching standards.

The basic malady of our education system is lack of accountability and transparency. There are selection committees to select teachers but they have not to give reasons for their choice. But in the Western system (which we copy) selection is based on detailed and well defined criteria. All candidates for fresh appointments have to give seminars in which even students have right to be present and give their opinion about the teaching abilities of the candidates and their opinions have to be taken into account.

External examinations are conducted but examiners aren't answerable to anybody for the marks they give except in a very general way.

Teachers' teaching is seldom evaluated and even worst teachers get automatically certificate of being good teachers on the basis of their being no complaints against them.

The names of P.hD thesis examiners on kept secret and examiners run no risk of approving a wrong substandard thesis. Had there been names of the scholar guide and examiners on each thesis and all these are made available (photocopies) in the central libraries on payment of fees nobody would have used plagiarised material.

Most of the persons in the educational systems, students, teachers, members of the management are dishonest and they can't be trusted. A system should be such in which every person should be accountable to members of the group and every group should be accountable to every other group. Each job done should be be transparent. There is nothing wrong with the individuals in our country. We need to restructure the system to ensure integrity and honesty.

(The writer is former reader coordinator of Jammu University)

SPOTLIGHT
US body highlights faces of intolerance in Pak, India

From B L Kak

The US Commission on International Religious Freedom has finally called a spade a spade, after picking up Pakistan and India as its subjects. And the spotlight, significantly, is more on India than on Pakistan.

The US body, which was established two years ago under an Act of Congress, cannot be faulted, considering the fact that the recent wave of attacks against Christian missionaries and Christian properties in some parts of India triggered protests as well as animated discussions even beyond the Indian borders.

The US Commission on International Religious Freedom held the hearing on the day the Indian Premier, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, ended his visit to Washington and left for New Delhi. No wonder, there were rumours or sorts. And, among scores of Indians in the US, there was an element of suspicion, too.

That this phenomenon had been taken note of the US body was borne out by the denial issued on behalf of the commission that the timing of the hearing was meant to embarrass the Indians. However, the fact was that Mr John Dayal, a representative of the All Indian Christian Council, spoke in chilling terms of the anti-Christian campaign.

Mr John Dayal was reported to have accused the right-wing Hindu organisations of having instigated the anti-Christian campaign. And Mr Dayal was quoted as having said that there might not be "rivers of Christian blood" flowing in India yet, but an atmosphere of fear had been created.

Significantly, of all the publications, Pakistani English daily, Dawn, gave due space to Mr John Dayal’s statement before the US Commission on International Religious Freedom. The evidence given by various participants in the hearing generally followed set lines. But Mr Dayal created history of sorts.

While discussing the anti-Christian campaign and its architects, Mr Dayal was said to have set some functionaries of the US body thinking anew with his observation that the destruction of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh should not be seen asn an isolated act on the part of a few bigots, but as a reflection of the extremists’ desire to re-write or correct Indian history. And he was also quoted as having said: "The demolition of the Babri mosque had scared the psyche of the nation and brought death, destruction and pain in its aftermath".

On the crusade against Christians, Mr John Dayal said: "The hate campaign against Christians questions our roots, attacks the tenets of our faith, targets our priests and nuns, institutions and social work. Senior members of the Sangh Parivar, including some who are in the current Union Government as Ministers or head various frontal organisastions, mock Virgin Birth and blaspheme against the Resurrection".

The Hindu concern about conversions, particularly among the Dalits, and the work of Christian missionaries was described as the likely cause leading to the hate campaign against Christians. Prof. Ainslie T Embree of the Columbia University also expatiated on the theme, and asserted that if Hindu nationalist organisations had quite noticeably lessened their propaganda and physical attacks on Muslims, they had intensified them on Christians.

While the Indian situation occupied much of the attention, Pakistan did not escape censure either. The Pakistani publication said that the problem in any comparison between the two countries with regard to religious freedom "is that in India manifestations of communalism are often seen as aberrations in a nation with a secular, democratic constitution, but in the case of Pakistan they are considered to be inevitable products of the constitutionally mandated Islamic character of the state".

It is not easy to defend such constitutionally sanctioned devices as separate electorates or the motivations that led to the declaration of the Ahmadiya community in Pakistan as a minority. Incidentally, a spokesman for the Ahmadis gave some disturbing figures at the hearing. He said that from April 1984 to December 31, 1999, as many as 753 Qadianis had been booked for displaying the Kalima and 379 booked for "posing as Muslims".

One may argue about the political or even strategic purpose behind the convening of hearings like those of the Commission of International Religious Freedom or the publication of periodic US State Department reports on human rights in various countries and debates on religious militancy, but these precipitate a fairly high level of open discourse and often the presentations made are scholarly and detailed, the Pakistani paper has said.

This, the paper concluded, represented one of the strengths of American society. This is in sharp contrast to the death of dialogue in Pakistan, especially on religious issues which have assumed a religious or ideological connotation such as Kashmir. The Pak paper observed: "We carp a lot about what the West is doing to us but are not prepared to confront the vexed questions facing us or to adopt a more liberal and tolerant approach to such questions".