Daily Excelsior... Editorial

EDITORIAL

By Bharat Jhunjhunwala
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is indeed a milestone in securing welfare of human beings. But fifty years down the line many a shortcoming is visible. The Declaration.....more

India: Waking up
to mother's rights

By J Niti
A Canadian woman who attended the special United Nations Assembly on Women in New York last year was shocked when the world body refused to allow her to....more

Growing unrest
among the masses

By Amit Sharma
Today, the world is moving at a fast pace and the demand of time is to move with the fast track movement of events and activities. But....more

The tobacco epidemic

Dr Roopa Vajpeyi
The Tobacco Products Bill 2000 that has been introduced by the NDA government has brought back tobacco-related problems into sharp focus. India has for long been a soft target for tobacco companies......more

EDITORIAL

Money & Mosques

Disturbing, indeed, are the disclosures about finance from Saudi Arabia for new mosques to be built in India. And India includes Jammu and Kashmir for the purpose. For one, the timing of the largesse could not have suited the busybodies of the Hindu Divided Family better. In recent times, the RSS and its offshoots have given multiple indications of how churches and other institutions run by Christian missionaries and the financing of Muslim religious and educational trusts can be used as a propaganda tool. The Sangh Parivar will thus have more reason to go shriller still on their campaign. The Saudi authorities have, perhaps unwittingly, provided a handle to these elements. There is no denying that several organisations and bodies of the majority community are likewise also recipients of handsome foreign funds. But that by itself is no reason why restraint and a sense of responsibility should be exercised by both donors and recipients alike. There is also the equally valid proposition that such funding will be more constructive if it is designed to finance educational institutions and vocational courses. While it is perfectly the donor’s prerogative to choose the manner and end-use of aid, the obverse is also true. Those at the receiving end should be made more accountable about why they need aid and what they intend to do with it. For, it is an established fact that in spite of the changes that have been introduced in the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act more than a decade ago, many organisations of dubious origin, some of whom are actually on the Government’s ban-list, have thrived, thanks to the munificence of their benefactors abroad. The Saudi proposal may not directly be subject on that score, but great care ought to be taken to ensure that the aid is not misused. The responsibility in this critical area is almost equally binding on the Government, the donors and the recipients. If one of these three does not play its assigned role, subversive elements will be the only gainers. It is high time that this whole business of foreign funding is given the attention due to it. The Indian sub-continent is enmeshed in the grip of drug wars, narco-terrorism, arms-deals and allied ills and ailments. And there has also been some kind of official patronage given to terrorists by a few irresponsible regimes in the region. Foreign funds are only one of the several components of the subversion saga, but they do constitute a significant sub-text that is impossible to ignore. While care needs to be taken not to dub all such aid as being essentially dubious and subversive, a close monitoring of the largesse, which in many cases is huge indeed, should also be introduced. The Saudi authorities should coolly and dispassionately examine whether their undoubted generosity is not waylaid by interested parties. National security and social peace ar too precious to be exposed to those keen on suborning the sovereignty and integrity of a legitimate state. The task of fighting subversion and terror is truly global in character. And it deserves to be considered as one such.

Kashmiri Author

A British author of Kashmiri origin has created history of sorts. He has suddenly shot into prominence. His name is Hari Kunzru. His age: Just 31. Kunzru was born in London to a Kashmiri father and English mother. He grew up in suburban Essex. He studied English at Oxford and Warwick universities. Indeed, he has aroused a measure of interest and curiosity among some literary and academic circles in India. All this after he signed one of the biggest first book deals in literary history. The deal is worth around 1.8 million dollars. London’s prestigious publication, Daily Telegraph, Kunzru had received the sum after his debut novel, The Impressionist, became the subject of a transatlantic bidding war. And Kunzru was quoted as saying that Hollywood film-makers had expressed a lot of interest in buying the rights. Kunzru lives in south London. He has described the work as ‘Midnight’s Children meets Tom Jones". He has been paid 7,50,000 pounds for the US American rights to his book and more than 500,000 pounds for the European rights. Hari Kunzru has already engaged a few agents. And one of these agents, Johnny Geller of Curtis Brown, has been quoted by the media as saying: "This book has become a phenomenon. It has really caught the imagination of the book world and everybody wants to publish it. More popular fiction may have made more money but this is a huge payment for a literary novel. The book itself is accessible, funny and a great story". And Kunzru’s confession: "I never expected anything like this and I’m overjoyed. I just hope the positive reaction from the publishers will translate into a positive reaction from the public". When did Kunzru submit his draft? Immediately after the first week of March 2001 ran out. The draft was distributed to publishers and three days later he received his first offer. Three publishers competed in the British auction for the book, which went to Penguin’s Imprint Hamish Hamilton. The US rights went to Dutton, also a division of Penguin.

New human rights

By Bharat Jhunjhunwala

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is indeed a milestone in securing welfare of human beings. But fifty years down the line many a shortcoming is visible. The Declaration sanctifies human inequality by ignoring the inherent psychological inequalities among human beings. It places emphasis on 'rights' rather than duties. It sanctifies economic inequality between human beings by restricting economic rights within national boundaries. It ignores that the present constitution of the UN Security Council is contrary to the principle of equality. The present Declaration is iniquitous and needs to be thoroughly revised. India must prepare an alternate Declaration and present it before the United Nations.

Article 1 of the Declaration stipulates that all human beings are "equal in dignity and rights." Article 3 stipulates that all have rights to life, liberty and security. Article 13 speaks of rights of freedom of movement. Article 26 (1) provides for right to education. The difficulty is that no two of these many equalities can go together. If we were to secure equality of dignity between a weak and strong student in the class, it would be necessary to accept inequality of rights between the two. The right of the bright student to practicals would have to be restricted to provide equal dignity to the two. No two of the various equalities can go together. It was necessary to State upfront which would be the key parameter in which equality would be secured; and to acknowledge that inequality in all other parameters would be acceptable. The Declaration is a hotch-potch of mutually inconsistent equalities.

Our tradition has specified that equality will be secured only in 'opportunities of self-realization'. Human beings are different in their samskaras (inner tendencies) and capacities. Each should be provided with such opportunities, which are necessary for his self development. One who has the samskara of making money should be given the freedom to do business; but one who hs the samskaras of kingship must be deprived of that very freedom. It is necessary to amend the Declaration to say, "every human being is entitled to equal opportunities to realize his inner tendencies and that inquality would be accepted in all other parameters."

Men and women have different samskaras. There is no meaning to giving them same equal freedoms and opportunities. Each must be given according to his or her samskaras.

Article 7 provides that "all are equal before law." This means that the weak and the strong have equal legal rights. Naturally the weak would not be able to enforce their rights. Our tradition asks for an affirmative approach. Yudhistira was selected as Yuvaraja because he awarded lesser punishment to the Sudra and progressively higher punishment to Vaisya and Kshatriya. The principle was that punishment should be awarded in keeping with one's social responsibilities. This needs to be built in the Declaration.

Article 29 of the Declaration enables the rights of the individual to be limited if necessary for the 'general welfare of the society'. The problem here is that rights of the individual are primary. Only if they conflict with general welfare they may be 'limited.' The result is that individual rights of the terrorists are given primacy while the larger society suffers.

Our tadition puts general welfare in the centre. It is said that "give up one for the family, family for the village, and the village for the society." The welfare of the larger numbers has to be secured pro-actively. The Pandavas burnt six unsuspecting villagers in the house of lac so that they should escape and punish the evil rulers. Lord Rama gave up Sita to secure the welfare of the society. It is necessary to amend this Article to say, "Human Rights will be available only in larger social interest."

In Article 16 it has been accepted that the family is the 'fundamental group of sociey.' The 'group' should then have some autonomy to regulate the relationship between its members. The elders of the family would have greater authority. Thus in our tradition it is said to "Respect the mother as God, respect the father a God...." But other Articles of the Declaration require that equality be maintained between members of the family. Artile 1 and 2 talk of equal rights of family members. Under Article 7 the weight of evidence of the grandfather and the grandchild are equal. Article 16 (1) provides equal rights for the dissolution of family irrespective of the impact on other members. It is necessary to amend this Article to say, "The rights of the individual shall be subservient to those of the family."

Article 29 (1) mentions that "everyone has duties to the community." But the discharge of these duties is not compulsory. These are empty advice without teeth. Article 26 (2) says that education shall strengthen "respect for human rights and freedoms." It does not say that education shall strengthen the respect for "duties to the community." Article 18, 19 and 20 provide for freedom of thought, expression and assembly. These are not contingent on one discharging his duties to the community. The result has been that human beings do not discharge their duties. This leads to ever increasing violation of the rights of others. Our tradition, on the other hand, speaks only for duties. Gita says "duties alone are your right." The Declaration should be amended to make rights contingent on the discharge of those duties.

The Declaration endorses the present constitution of the Security Council, which is based on inequality. But the Article 29 (3) says that nothing shallbe said against the principles of United Nations.

The civil and political rights of all human beings stipulated in Article 4, 5, 14 (1), 15, 16, 19 etc. have universal applicability. But the economic rights are restricted within the borders of the nations. Article 13 restricts the freedom of movement to "within the borders of each State." If all human beings are entitled to equal rights then why should one human being be restricted from movement into another country? Article 21 (2) provides that the right of equal access to public services will be applicable only within 'his country'. Pray, why? When civil rights are universal then why not access to public services? Article 22 limits the right to social security "in accordance with resources of each State." Why should then political rights be universal? The result of these provisions is that the industrial countries can interfere in the affairs of the developing countries in the name of political rights, but the developing countries cannot interfere in the industrial countries to secure their economic rights. It is necessary to make these economic rights universal.

It is high time that we draw up a more just and equitable Character of Human Rights and present to the UN General Assembly for adoption.

India: Waking up to mother's rights

By J Niti

A Canadian woman who attended the special United Nations Assembly on Women in New York last year was shocked when the world body refused to allow her to breast-feed her five-month-old-baby while attending meetings.

It was only after she kicked up a fuss that UN officials made an exception and allowed her to breast-feed in an isolated area within the complex.

This incident is significant because it runs counter to one of the items approved recently by the UN Assembly: encouraging women and men to reconcile their work and family responsibilities.

More than 80 years after the International Labour Organisation (ILO) set maternity leave at 12 weeks in 1919, what has actually changed in terms of guaranteeing women maternity benefits?

The most generous provisions, including paternity leave, are found in Scandinavia and some west-European countries like France, Germany and Italy while major industrialised countries like the United States, Australia and New Zealand do not provide their working mothers with paid maternity leave.

In India, the importance of maternity entitlement has been well accepted in the Ninth Five Year Plan document, but sadly it is not reflected in the actions of the Government, claim women activists. "It is a well known fact that leave and other maternity benefits can only be accessed by women working in the organised sector, which is only seven per cent of all working women" says Vandana Prasad of the Forum for Creche and Child Care Services (FORCES), a Delhi - based Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO).

Further, activists also maintain that the Maternity Benefits Act, 1961 and the Employees' State Insurance Act, 1948 are not only inadequate but are impossible to apply to the unorganised sector for lack of implementation mechanisms.

The proposal for a Maternity and Child-Care Code was first put forward in 1986 in 'Shramshakti', the report of the National Committee on Women in the Unorganised Sector. This was the first official recognition that the needs of women and young children are inter-linked and need to be considered together since women, especially poor women, perform multiple roles as workers, homemakers and child caregivers.

It was felt that child-care services were not only important from the point of view of the health, welfare and development of the young child,but were equally an essential support service for mothers in the unorganised sector. The report suggested that a holistic review be undertaken of existing laws, schemes and programmes and that these be integrated with necessary changes and amendments into a single comprehensive Maternity and Child-Care Code.

Recent moves to extend maternity entitlements to the unorganised sector have been encouraging. In a landmark judgement in March 2000, the Supreme Court pronounced that muster roll workers of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) are entitled to materntiy entitlements.

However, the nagging question behind the Supreme Court's judgement is: What will be the impact of such a judgement on women's employment when such obligations are placed upon the employer? This aspect of the complex issue was debated at a recent seminar on 'Maternity Entitlement for Women in the Unorganised Sector' organised by FORCES in New Delhi.

There are wide-ranging views on the need for new legislative measures. Amita Dhandha of the Hyderabad - based NALSAR University of Law feels that there are already enough laws on the subject. "Half the time we are talking about new laws and new rights to get things moving, but so many laws which already exist need to be implemented," she says.

According to Jyoti Tuladhar of ILO, the principles of maternity protection remain the same and include paid leave, health protection, employment security and non-discrimination. What seems to have changed through the years is how these protections have been determined and the implications they have for women in the unorganised sector, she observes.

The scope of maternity entitlement has broadened, making the Convention more complex. It is not women's biology or babies' needs for best attainable nutrition and health care protection that is different today. What has changed is women's economic and political position in business and industry.

"More women nowadays are spending their child-bearing years in paid employment and the need for adequate maternity protection legislation has increased," stressed Tuladhar.

For the last 81 years, breast-feeding has been a part of 'maternity'. The first Convention, passed in 1919, established the ILO's basic principles of job-protected maternity leave, income replacement for mothers (paid leave), and health protection for mothers and babies.

The Convention also called for two half-hour nursing breaks for women returning to work after maternity leave. When this was revised in 1952, the standard was strengthened by adding the requirement that nursing breaks would be paid and counted as working time.

In India, this problem is further compounded by socio-cultural factors. One of the main problems in enumerating women as workers, says Prasad, is the all-pervasive patriarchal attitude that assumes that women do not work at all or that they do not work outside the home. "One of the main problems in quantifying women's participation in the economy, and therefore, planning for and supporting it, has been the inadequacy of the census process itself," says Prasad.

FORCES has drawn up a list of recommendations which it will press for incorporation in policy frameworks and programmes. These include enactment of a Central Act for Manual Workers with various sectors of labour in its schedule or separate Central laws for different unorganised sectors like agricultural workers, home-based workers, handloom workers, vendors and hawkers and domestic and construction workers.

The NGO also recommends amendments inthe Construction Workers Act to include workers in quarries, brick kilns and lime kilns, and the provision of creches in these workplaces. FORCES has also called for amendments to the Shops and Establishments Act and Contract Labour Act to include entitlements to child-care services.

Prasad also points out that though some State statutes have now provided 15 days paternity leave, this concept hardly exists in reality. Only if society provides the circumstances and systems by which a family can stay out of the 'market' will the function of caring for childen be given the recognition due to it. (WFS)

Growing unrest among the masses

By Amit Sharma

Today, the world is moving at a fast pace and the demand of time is to move with the fast track movement of events and activities. But it seems as if the young and even some middle-aged people are not applying themselves to understand the need of time. People don't seem to be conscious about the backwardness of our state and the sense of urgency, which is required to turn around the things.

One of the most unfortunate things is the growing unrest of impatient behaviour of the masses. Whatever may be the reasons but one can never justify his/her involvement in violent or restless acts. These days, you find people getting involved into strikes, dharnas and bandhs for 'n' number of reasons. A single issue or problem arises and the youngsters and their organizations; the youngsters and their organizations (mostly self-made) are ready to raise slogans and act aggressively to get their demands met! They don't even bother to realize the repercussions of such acts upon the common man and society as a whole. There seems to be no signs of a 'civilized society' while performing such restless acts. The active volunteers even forget to realize that their actions would not only create problems for the administration or Government but their own nears and dears may fall in the trap of such wild acts. Instead of making the situation more friendly and better, it leads to degradation of masses and wastage of useful resources and talent of young masses. They not only become accustomed to such methods of showing their stubbornness, but also make them a handful pack of cards acting on the instructions of few publicity-hungry people.

Actually, whatever has to happen, it ultimately happens and nobody can stop it, but these masses become the prey to some 'power' and 'publicity' hungry bosses, who even forget the names of these people, once they achieve their objectives.

It was only few days' back; the restlessness shown by some sections of people threw the life out of gear for a hefty number of days. In the end, nothing concrete came out of such actions and people went back to normal course of activities. But the mischief-mongers hardly realized the impact of their actions on general people. The daily wagers, who are dependent upon their day-to-day earnings, are the worst sufferers and their families struggle to arrange for even earn two square meals a day, especially during such times. On the whole, the trade and commerce suffers a lot and the economy of the State becomes an innocent target of such acts. In already financial crunch ridden states like ours, such losses prove irrecoverable and they further deepen such crisis.

Transportation and public movement becomes impossible in such situations and people are forced to walk down on roads to reach their destinations such as offices, banks, educational institutions etc.

Some sections of youngsters, however, feel that this unrest is nothing but ''escapism'' on behalf of the masses who are involved into such acts. Students become an integral part of such acts because they want to run-away from studies and ask for lean concessions, such as ''open-choice'' or ''curtailment of syllabi'' during examination times. Youth participate because they are not ready to work hard and create avenue for themselves leading to growth and prosperity. So it seems to be the best pathway to them to run away or escape the frustration that surrounds and hovers them every now and then. Even the middle-aged and mature people participate in such futile acts, as they want to escape from the responsibilities, which they have to perform for the overall growth and development.

It has been an old tendency of our people to act in an impulsive manner just at the call of few self-centered people who use provocative words to ignite the restless egos of such masses. The end-result is more or less the same: such shrewd people gaining limelight and popularity on the behest of struggle and losses to such innocent masses.

Many academicians and senior citizen are even of the view-point that such unrest among the masses cannot be controlled unless and until the administration adopts certain strict measures to control such acts, like imposition of ban on all kinds of bandhs, dharnas, strikes, etc. and strict punishment for all those who are found guilty for performing such acts. They believe that all such acts are the ones inspired by the hidden motives of few fame-hungry people who hold the knack of using and exploiting the innocent masses up to any possible extent. The thinking lot even proposes that 'consensus' should be built among the youth to shun violence and such futile acts and pledges to move towards development and prosperity of the state.

It is high time that the young masses should start realizing the impact of their involvement in such destructive acts, before our Jammu gets the same does as the Kashmir valley has got and the external elements doing their best to spread terrorism and violence to meet their deadly objectives. If such is the motto of masses and they are ready to drag the Jammu region towards such darkness, then they may continue boosting the same acts by contributing and participating actively in such events. But if they really want to prove the world that they are the real sons of the soil and want the state to grow and prosper and set an example for others to follow, then there should be no second thoughts over the application of self-thought and restraint from becoming puppets in the hands of certain self-centered people. Along with, it should never be forgotten that the real victory lies in action and finding solutions peacefully and amicably rather than using violence and force ! Now the ball lies in youngsters' court and they have to decide what is right or wrong for safe, secure and better future.

The tobacco epidemic

Dr Roopa Vajpeyi

The Tobacco Products Bill 2000 that has been introduced by the NDA government has brought back tobacco-related problems into sharp focus. India has for long been a soft target for tobacco companies who have been reaping rich rewards due to lax and ambivalent government control on tobacco. An even bigger unorganised sector and market exists in the rural areas, consisting of chewing tobacco, bidis, gutkha and its various versions. Very little attention has been given to tobacco as a consumer issue-consumers being taken for a ride by the tobacco lobby and its advertising gimmicks. Tobacco as a product is designed to hard its consumer, killing between 3.5 to 4 million people ever year What's worse, its has made deep inroads in developing countries like India where the population is predominantly rural and educationally disadvantaged. In 1996, the developing nations like China, India and Indonesia consumed 44 percent of the world tobacco. The Indian tobacco scenario is a combination of complex social, economic and political problems which need to be addressed in an integrated way to stem the prolific growth of tobacco consumption in its various forms. The Tobacco Products Bill 2000 bans:

* Tobacco advertising (which includes surrogate advertising by way of sponsoring of cultural or sports events),

* It bans sale of tobacco products to people below the age 18.

* Tobacco companies will be required to indicate nicotine and tar contents on cigarette package and direct health warnings will be mandatory.

* Smoking in public places will also be banned.

India is not alone in imposing strict legislation on tobacco.

* In February 2001, The European Union (EU) has approved a new anti-smoking law that will ban the use of words, 'light' and 'mild' on cigarette packs, and from the year 2003, all cigarettes sold in the EU must carry dire health warnings like, 'smoking kills' or 'smoking severely harms those around you'.

* Cigarette packs may even carry pictures of rotting lungs, gums or diseases hearts to deter people from taking up smoking.

* Tobacco companies will also have to make public cigarette ingredients which include additives and sugars that are used to hook young people on to smoking.

And yet, tobacco companies are constantly finding new ways of re-energising their consumer markets by intruding so-called 'less-harmful products' like cigarettes that burn tobacco at low temperatures and which use special battery-operated lighters-R.J. Reynolds and Philip Morris taking the lead with their new products, Eclipse and Accord. These tactics are aimed at winning back consumers' confidence by making them think that smoking can be a 'safe' habit. This trend is similar to the introduction of 'filter' and 'low-tar cigarettes' 50 years ago that made people think that these cigarettes would cause less harm to their health and consequently, people ended up smoking more than they usually did and many non-smokers and children also got hooked on to the addiction.

Tobacco strategies

The West has begun to reject tobacco. With increased litigation and concerted efforts by the State and people to contain tobacco growth, the develop world smokers have started to shy away from the macho image of cigarette smokers. Predictably, the protobacco lobby has turned to the vast and relatively untouched developing world. Its booming population, poverty and illiteracy, lack of government action make it a soft target for tobacco introduction and sustained growth. By the year 1998, 98 percent of the world cigarette market had been tapped to varying degrees by multi-national tobacco gaints as compared to 50 percent just ten years ago.

* Approximately, 80,000 to 1,00,000 young people become tobacco consumers daily and a majority of this number is in developing countries. It serves tobacco interests to hook on as many people to cigarette smoking and other forms of tobacco addictions like gutka and pan masala as well as create short-term economic opportunities for them in terms of tobacco cultivation and industries like bidi-rolling.

* With 50 Percent of its population under the age of 25, India is a very lucrative market for tobacco companies. There are five million child smokers in India and everyday around 55,000 children start to smoke or experiment with the idea. This figure is in sharp contrast to the US situation where the figure is much lower at 3,000 and is declining. In such scenario, the Bill very aptly bans sale to tobacco products to minors. The provision in the Biil to print health warnings is also timely. In the develop world; these methods have been is use for long, the European Union has even mooted the idea of printing pictures of rotting teeth on cigarette packages to discourage smoking.

* Tobacco interests have adopted clever strategies to hook children and adult alike to smoking. In Britain, evidence has come to light that some of the leading brands like Benson and Hedges Mellow Blend, Lucky Strike and Mellow Blend and laced with sweeteners. Tobacco companies have been using these additives for decades but their use has been kept a close guarded secret under the pretext that the information was 'commercially sensitive'.

* Rural India and Tobacco

* Around 102 billion cigarette strikes are sold in India every year but cigarette account for just 19 percent of the total tobacco consumption. Bidis are highly popular in India, especially in the rural and semi-urban areas. For every cigarette sold, 8.5 bidis are smoked in India. In 1998-99, billion bidis are sold in India. Bidi Manufacturing and smoking is not as organised a sector as cigarette manufacturing and thus harder to control. Also, bidis are cheaper than cigarettes but high in tar and nicotine contents. Thus more pernicious than cigarette smoking and more widely consumed by the poorer sections of the society.

* Other forms of tobacco are pan masala and gutka. Only 19 percent of tobacco consumption in India is in the form of cigarette smoking. 53 percent is smoked in the form of bidis and the rest by way of chewing tobacco. Unlike cigarette production, that can be controlled at point of manufacture and sale, chewing tobacco has devious ways of working itself into the consumer market. Pan masala is one of the most popular products in India. It can be found in every road side stall in the remotest corners of the country. In consumption, it is highly carcinogenic. The John Hopkins University of Baltimore, USA, conducted studies on the health aspects of pan masala consumption and found that 36 of the 37 pan masala brands tested were carcinogenic.

* Women and children are perhaps the worse affected group in the tobacco imbroglio. They are specifically targeted by the tobacco advertisers and also suffer the most due to passive smoking and exploitation in the tobacco industry. There are an estimated 200 million women smokers around the world according to WHO. Research shows that bidi smoking women deliver babies that are 200g lower in weight than healthy babies at the time of birth. Passive smoking also causes women to deliver low birth weight babies.

* The bidi industry employs and exploits women in a big way. Bidi making being an activity that can be done at home, very little information is available on how many children and women are employed in the task. According to one estimate, 65 percent of the bidi making task force consists of women, while children comprise 15 percent Most of these workers are underpaid, given no work benefits and kept away from their basis right to education and healthy living.