EDITORIAL
A VERY DISTURBING STATE
The most disturbing aspect
of the rising lethality and reach of the insurgency is
that it took an open attack on the railway station in
Jammu to open the eyes of the Government, of this State
and nation, to it. For several months past all
indications pointed to a worsening of the security scene.
The militants had grouped up and gathered strength over
the six long months of Ceasefire. Reports from the valley
spoke of militants roaming openly in the countryside.
Eyewitness accounts from the upper reached of the Jammu
talked of the seething presence of the militants both
local and foreign there. Increased interception of the
militants along the ravines in Kathua district running to
the Pak border were clear pointers that infiltration is
on the rise. Over the last two months dozens of hard
encounters had taken place in the Hiranagar/Samba area.
Indeed, this was being talked as the route being
increasingly used by the Pak infiltrators for ingress
into Udhampur and Doda districts.
But the authorities chose
either to downplay it or not to notice it at all. They
even put inaccurate interpretations on the facts, which
apparently suited them as they showed them in good
administrative light or in increasing control. Even as
the reports spoke of the valley swarming with terrorists,
the increased killings of terrorists in the valley were
taken as proof of the security agencies gaining an upper
hand and not indications of an increased presence,
fortified positions and an enhanced capacity in men and
materials of the terrorists. Indeed, something back these
columns had cautioned against complacency of the
interpretations of just that kind. Certainly, the powers
that be must have had more thorough inputs from the
intelligence sources and even the assessments from the
ground situation as it was developing. Was there a
paucity of information or did the authorities choose to
make light of the cautioning nudges that were coming from
all sides?
It is remarkable that the
people who would now speak nothing less than 'disturbed
acts' and 'freehand to the army' were till yesterday
ready to swear that all was hanky dory in the State. It
cannot be that a single incident has changed their whole
outlook. The facts were strewn all over the State; they
cried for appreciation and action yet they appear to have
been brushed aside as of no consequence. Even as the
ministers had drastically cut their tours even into the
less remote areas, even as the administration continued
to cower deeper under the security covers, even as the
outskirts kept teeming with the terrorists, the
Government denied any worsening of the situation. Only
when the terrorists have come knocking at the very doors
of the governance have the powers been jostled out of the
complacence. The only conclusion that emerges is that
there have been serious lapses in appreciation of the
inputs and assessments or else a motivated
misinterpretation of the situation. And that puts a big
question mark on their capacity or the will to deal with
the situation effecively.
THE RIGHT TO INFORMATION
Transparency has long been
held as an important aspect of popular governance. Next
only to the power of vote, transparency of action is what
would set a democratic government apart from a
dictatorship. A dictatorship has everything to hide,
while a democracy implies that everything must be in the
open, under the public eye. This becomes an imperative
when we consider the fact that people, especially those
with power, as a rule tend to be so self-serving. Indeed,
the democratic experience all over the world would lead
to an unequivocal conclusion that even the most
sincere-sounding demagogue would not miss an opportunity
to feather a personal nest nicely closeted somewhere or
the other. One may not say that all the seedy islands
from St. Kitts to Channel Islands exist solely to hide
the monies that the peoples' representatives are
sequestering away, but quite a chunk of those monies, the
shady-banks there hoard, do come from these sources.
But corruption is just one
of the delinquencies. It is hardly a secret that most of
the decisions of the popular leaders are dictated by the
personal or party considerations. They are also ready to
influence the administrative decisions of the government
functionaries to further these ends. Unfortunately, not
all bureaucrats can give an upright account of themselves
and their actions. As a matter of fact very few do.
Rarely are the decisions that are taken 'in the interest
of public administration' dictated by that consideration.
Though they shouldn't, the governments do have much to
hide from the people, the concerned parties, the press
and the media. In light of this it certainly is not
difficult to see why there has been, and still is, hard
opposition from both the bureaucracy and the political
executive to throwing open the closests of Government.
Bureaucracy is said to be an organ of Government but all
evidence points to its having become a full fledged
organism in itself which would not stop short of (ab-)
using the whole State to its ends. It develops a vested
interest in secrecy because it is to rule over the roost
for the most time. But ironically it is the political
bosses having 'a short time to stay' who are most
vehement in erecting the shrouds of secrecy around the
Government actions. Obviously they have much to hide of
their dalliance with power even in those short terms.
For the last several
decades the demand for the right to information has been
raised. Over the last ten years it has become
increasingly vociferous but the executive has always
found pretty excuses to deny people the access to
information. Now, it appears that some headway has been
made and the parliamentary select committee has finalized
the legislation. The bill itself may be introduced in the
current session of the parliament. After half a century
of democratic practice the last barriers to open
governance may finally be lifted. It however remains to
be seen whether this State would also show an equal
sensitivity to the demand and take this vital step
towards executive transparency. Of course, a legitimate
case can be made of the need to maintain secrecy in the
State in view of the security situation. That has been
the classical defense of the increasing secrecy even with
the Government of India. But the envisaged bill has
already exempted the security and other defense related
issues from the purview of the act. The day-to-day acts
at the district, provincial and State level have very
little that can be called sensitive from a defense point
of view. More often the socalled national interest is a
camouflage for the very petty interests of the members of
the executive. Those acts need not, deserve not, to be
shielded behind the pretext of the national interest and
must be thrown open to the public whom they concern very
seriously.
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Onus
of police image lies on seniors
By H L
Kapoor
Scotland
Yard is said to be the finest police
force in the world. 'The British Bobby'
as the policeman is called is most
courteous, well behaved honest, humane
and sensitive to human sufferings. The
day the men join the force, a spirit of
selfless service is drummed in their
heads in that they are supposed to help
and protect the people against crime and
oppression. The policemen are made to
understand that they are friends and not
masters of the people.
The
training imparted to them is aimed at
making them ideal policemen. The British
policemen leave no stone unturned to
uphold the law and are prompt and
effective in taking action against the
wrong doers. Their commanding officers do
ensure that they are well respected and
admired by the people for their sincerity
to their profession. They set an example
of rectitude and impartial behaviour to
their men so that they earn the peoples'
accolades.
Unfortunately,
the image of policemen in India is just
the opposite. They are taken as brute,
dishonest, selfish, uphelpful, boorish,
corrupt, insincere, inhuman and
heartless. People do not trust them for
they do not get a sincere and positive
response when they approach them in
connection with their complaints and
grievances.
Not all
policemen are insincere. Since majority
of them constitute an uphelpful lot, they
bring a bad name to the entire force. An
average citizen avoids them and hesitates
to approach them even under compelling
circumstances.
Undoubtedly,
some senior police officers have been
making sincere endeavour to ensure
improvement in the police behaviour.
Chapters on human rights and behaviour
have been included in the syllabi of the
trainees to make them inculcate a habit
of being sensitive to people's problems.
The
policemen, when they join service, are
administered an oath to remain honest and
uphold the law. While some keep the vow
in the face of heavy odds and difficult
situations there are others, who are
compelled and coerced to become corrupt
under the circumstances, they have to
work.
The causes
which can be attributed to the negative
image of policemen are not far to seek.
Sometimes, the erring officers are not
taken to task for their acts of omission
and commission by top supervisory
officers for vested interests. The soft
attitude of seniors emboldens them to
commit serious irregularities as they get
an impression that they can go scot free.
Favouritism
and protection to wrong and erring
officers cut at the very root of police
discipline. While the seniors may be
sympathetic and considerate to their
bonafide problems, they should be
ruthless to punish the corrupt and
insincere policemen who indulge in
serious irregularities, including torture
to the suspects to make easy money.
Since the
policemen have been given immense powers
under the law of the land, they develop a
wrong notion in their mind to become rich
overnight. They succumb to the temptation
of materialism and 'get-rich-quick by any
means' syndrome.
Sometimes,
the honest police officers are sidelined
by the seniors who are themselves 'not
straight' and are denied the rightful
place. Injustice to honest and upright
officers makes them feel frustrated.
Either they lose interest in their work
or start indulging in corrupt practices
following the ''line'' adopted by the
seniors.
Sometimes,
an upright and honest officer is made to
suffer and he tends to be indisciplined
and insensitive to the people's problems
as he nurses a strong feeling that his
uprightness and rigidity for honesty
would not pay dividend. As a result the
image of the police starts eroding.
The senior
echelons of the force must take a serious
note of this and ensure that no upright
and honest officer is made to suffer.
They can hold meetings commonly known as
''sampark sabhas or durbars'' and listen
to the genuine grievances of the officers
of the subordinate ranks. One honest
police officers going astray would cause
serious discontentment in a section of
the force where be is posted, which may
crop up in other units in due course.
The
aggrieved officers can themselves
approach their seniors when they feel
that ''justice has been denied to them''.
Further the senior officers must know the
undercurrent of discontentment in the
force through their own sources and take
remedial measures to stem the rot on
time.
The
policemen, particularly those serving in
metropolitan cities and the Capital
witness the materialistic life. The
ostentatious lifestyle of those residing
in the neighbourhood allures them to make
their lives ''comfortable'' at all costs.
They also would like to give their
children a better living and get them
admitted to ''public'' schools, though
they may not be having sufficient means
to do so.
They yearn
to seek all that is possible. To achieve
all this they stoop low to dishonesty for
earning more money. Not only the lower
ranks, even senior officer indulge in
unfair means to supplement the income.
It has
been noticed that politicians'
interference and pressure on the lower
echelons of the police force often result
in the concoction of evidence for the
benefit of the wrong doers who are hand
in glove with their political master.
Dreaded criminals and musclemen are
protected because they constituted
politicians' striking force.
Policemen
get allured when a handsome amount is
offered to them to carry on their illegal
''trade'' and seek favour for criminals
who are harboured by them for narrow
political gains. Policemen, who fall prey
to the machinations of politicians, do
not realise the harm they do the police
force in particular and the people in
general. Not realising that these are
disgraceful acts on their part, they tend
to become corrupt and are able to make
easy money. Thus, they get mixed up with
the politicians and hardened criminals to
the detriment of the society's welfare
whom they are supposed to serve and
extend all help.
Due to
lack of supervision, policemen indulge in
serious crimes and corruption with
impunity. Wilful neglect of their
unlawful acts makes policemen corrupt,
irresponsible and an unhelpful lot. This
further leads to deliberate neglect of
duties, malicious prosecutions, filing of
false cases, culminating into corruption
and nepotism.
Though the
corrupt or criminal act of an officer is
his individual action, the supervising
officers concerned cannot be free from
blame. Sometimes, the senior officers do
not care for the upright persons. This
results in frustration in many cases and
honest policemen tend to become corrupt
out of sheer disgust.
Honest,
capable and conscientious officers must
be encouraged and honored. Prized
postings should not longer be the
monopoly of a few. Persons with
unblemished reputation for honesty may be
chosen to man the specialised units.
Lack of
certain facilities to policemen makes
them go astray when they have to spend
from their hand-earned income on official
work. For instance, inadequate transport
at the police station makes investigating
officers spend on transport when they
have to pay remove infirm, injured, sick
and dead persons from the roads. In the
event of non-availability of transport,
policemen have pay for the transport.
sometimes, they force the relatives of
the deceased to meet transport expenses
which further aggravates corruption.
Long hours
of duty is another factor which makes
policemen corrupt. They can be called for
duty any time. Sometimes, they are put on
duty for long hours. They spend on food
from their pocket. To make ends meet,
they try to make money. Duty timings
should be subjected to variations. In the
event of riots taking place or any other
duties connected with the maintenance of
law and order, their proper feeding is a
must so that they do not indulge in
corrupt practices.
It is too
well known to need any reiteration that
policemen indulge in barbaric and inhuman
acts in the course of investigation.
Several
deaths in custody have taken place which
not only brings a bad name to the
individual but also the entire
department. It is essential that the
senior gazette officers should ensure
that no person is subjected to torture
and the guidelines/directions of the
Supreme Court and the National Human
Right Commission are implemented in
letter and spirit.
It is also
essential that the complainants visiting
police stations are treated well in
respectful manner and their complaints
recorded correctly and no attempt be made
to minimise the offences. Proper and
timely action would go a long way to
improve the eroding image of the police.
The best
talented land experienced officers may be
chosen and put in charge of the police
training colleges across the country.
Proper training and strict supervision
are the very foundations of police
functioning. Further, mobility, proper
equipment, communication system,
protection against political pressures
and interference would reduce, if not
eliminate, chances of corruption.
The senior
police officers must keep a respectable
distance between themselves and their
subordinates and should never ask for
favours involving even a negligible
expenditure as in that event junior
officers would be able to exploit them.
The efficiency of senior lies in the
honest leadership they can provide to
their subordinates. -CNF
(The writer is a retired ACP)
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Indonesia's
troubled present and uncertain future
By N. B.
Menor
The
dramatic transformation of the political
scene in Indonesia, leading to the
unceremonious sacking of President Abdur
Rahman Wahid on charges of inefficiency
and corruption and the subsequent
appointment of Megawati Sukarnoputri,
exemplifies the fragility of the
nation’s recent experiment with
democratic process. The ongoing
socio-political turmoil in Indonesia
since 1998, when Suharto was forced to
abdicate political power after 32 years
of iron-fisted rule, clearly validates
the finding of a recent survey by
magazine showing Indonesia to be the most
difficult country to govern.
Apart from
its inexperience in democracy, continuing
socio-economic and ethnic-religious
turmoil in Indonesia will ensure that the
first lady President does not sit pretty.
If Wahid, the first democratically
elected President, with a large following
and a liberal political outlook, proved
unequal to the task, a nominated
President, lacking popular mandate and
now vulnerable to civilian-military
pressure, has an unenviable task ahead.
While
having the aura of being the daughter of
the legendary Sukarno, the founding
leader of Indonesia, her political base
remains unclear. The danger that
competing group interests in the
Peoples’ Consultative Assembly (MPR)
and institutional-structural apparatus,
represented by the military and the
police, will force president Megawati to
make critical compromises, looms large
over her presidency.
In
actuality, what Indonesia requires at the
moment are major decisions, involving
socio-economic political reforms. The
three decades of economic corruption,
exemplified in crony capitalism of
Suharto, have ensured that economic power
remained centralised in the hands of few.
After Suharto was overthrown in 1998 as a
result of the student uprising, it was
hoped that Wahid would address the
economic woes, violent separatist turmoil
and all pervasive corruption that plagued
the fourth populous country in the world.
However,
the erratic Wahid became overwhelmed by
the socio-economic and political crisis,
including large scale ethnic-religious
violence, particularly in the separatist
fighting in the western province of Aceh
and the Muslim-Christian battle in the
Moluccan islands.
In effect,
the turmoil not only unsettled the
political system but resulted in
widespread violence claiming thousands of
lives. Proving unequal to the gigantic
task before him, Wahid responded with
spending much of his time abroad and
threatening his growing number of
opponents with draconian emergency
provisions. In the end, controlling just
10 per cent of the parliamentary seats,
having lost the loyalty of the armed
forces, and his emergency decree shot
down by the Supreme Court, Wahid’s
position looked more farcical than
presidential.
In a
moment of weakness, he even called upon
his 40 million fanatical followers from
the Nahdlaatual Ulamd, Indonesia’s
largest Muslim group, to prepare
themselves for a against his detractors.
The reluctance of Wahid to negotiate a
dignified exit even after being
completely isolated by the three main
institutions – Parliament, armed
forces and the Supreme Court –
portrayed his poor political acumen.
Ironically, at the same time,
Wahid’s removal has shown that a
democratically elected leader has been
unseated, primarily on the support of the
military and the police – the very
institution that was the backbone of 32
years of dictatorial rule by Suharto. In
the transformed circumstances, the
security forces have made a dramatic
comeback. The major challenges before the
new Megawati government would not only be
to balance appropriately the power
sharing equation between the civilian and
the military, but to ultimately bring
about institutional reforms whereby the
military-police accept the supremacy of
the civilian government.
In the
euphoria of all round support for
President Megawati, both from within and
abroad – the ASEAN nations and
Washington – she has the arduous
task of providing socio-political
stability, reducing ethnic-religious
violence, resolving separatist challenges
and maintaining the territorial integrity
of Indonesia.
Even as
the global marker has responded
positively to her ascendancy to the
presidency, as exemplified in the
buoyancy at the stock exchange and
strengthening of the Rupia, delay in
economic reform will only renew the
pessimistic outlook of the business
community. Unnerved by the ongoing
political crisis in the last six months,
the local business elite has already
begun to vote with its feet. Concerned at
the deteriorating political situation,
the economic crisis and slump in
employment, the number of Indonesian
seeking five year non-immigration visas
to the United States was 50 per cent
higher in the first five months of 2001
than in 2000.
Moreover,
President Megawati’s rise has
disillusioned many minority ethnic
groups, particularly Indonesia’s
Chinese community. Despite his failings,
many believed that Wahid, a Muslim cleric
with a liberal political outlook, has the
authority to enforce a policy of
religious pluralism. They fear the
nomination of Muslim leader Hamzah Haz,
as the new vice-president, will give rise
to nationalistic Islamic fervour.
"We don’t think Megawati has
the same authority to deal with the
hardiline Muslims. She has her
limitations," feels an Indonesian
Chinese businessman. In effect, nothing
in President Megawati makes it sure that
she will succeed where Wahid failed. In a
pattern similar to many failed states,
the central leadership in Jakarta seem a
pawn in the opportunistic game being
played by the civilian-political
leadership and military forces ready to
make a comeback to the centre of
authority. The same Parliament, which
rejected Megawati in 1999 though she had
one third of popular votes, has now
unanimously approved her ascendancy to
the presidency. The same military, which
had collaborated in opportunistic
political violence and had been the
backbone of Suharto’s 32 years of
military rule, now claims democratic
rationale to act against Wahid.
All in
all, a messy affair. By any standard, the
task ahead for Megawati is gigantic. If
history is any guide, her facing upto the
unprecedented challenges of providing
socio-political stability, checking
religious ethnic violence and halting the
disintegration of Indonesia, is not
assured. In case she proves her critics
wrong, a status alongside her legendary
father Sukarno in the annals of this
sprawling South-East Asian archipelago of
225 million is assured. (INAV)
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Govt
schools show poor performance
By Rajesh Sharma
Despite
expenditure of crores of rupees in Education
Department, what is the output of well qualified
highly paid Govt. teachers as compared to private
school teachers in the recent Board results of
SSC and HSP-II. The same problem is repeated so
many times, but the authorities controlling the
whole education system pay no attention to this
burning problem. The answer is quite simple. The
children of all the category of education
department i.e from teachers, clerks to director,
commissioner and even education minister are
studying in reputed private or army schools and
securing good marks, then why the controlling
authorities would waste their energy and time in
making any action plan.
On thing to be
noted is that this problem does not occur in
lower classes i.e from Ist to 9th and even in
11th. Simply there is not any provision from Govt
to fail the students through CCE scheme upto 7th
level.
Even in 8th class
most of the Govt schools show their results in
the range 70 to 100 percent irrespective of
control of DIETs. But the control is just a
formality. Same is the case in 9th & 11th
classes. All the unit tests are to be taken by
the staff of the institution. Only the question
papers are to be supplied by the J&K board of
school education for terminal tests. The marking
of the question papers is done in their own
institution. Due to this when the students appear
in the SSC and HSP-II without any solid base are
sure to fail.
The result
declared by the BOSE of SSC if bifurcated for
Govt and private schools comes to be 5 percent
and 36 percent respectively. Hundreds of
questions arise in the minds of common people,
whether the Govt teachers are highly paid as
compared to the private teachers ? Whether the
controlling officers have lost their control over
their teachers or teachers have lost their
control over their students? Either their parents
do not bother for their study or the politicians
do not want that the education standard be raised
so that they can use them as their vote bank etc.
etc. DIETs are spending lakhs of rupees on
Science Exhibitions, workshops, refresher
courses, orientation courses and so many others
without any fruitful results.
What to say about
the lethargic and irresponsible attitude of the
employees and officials of the J&K BOSE
towards their duty. Many students receive their
mark sheets without marks entered in them.
Sometimes practical marks are not entered.
Marking is not done properly. After re-evaluation
30 to 40 marks are increased in some cases.
How long this
process will continue. If it not arrested, it
will darken the future of the present generation.
When will their
consciousness allow them to work sincerely and
with dedication? Now time has come that the
Government take concrete steps for improving the
standard of education. Also immediate steps be
taken for the accountability of the teachers and
officers.
Moreover, the
teachers be appointed on the basis of subject
need so that deficiency of subject need teachers
be met out. Some extra rooms be constructed for
some schools where students are multiplying
rapidly. Special care be taken of primary classes
that are considered as the base of the whole
education system. Teachers showing good results
should be rewarded suitably and those found
faulty be punished under law.
The approximate
pass percentage of most of the Government schools
falling in Udhampur district comes in the range.
(0-33 ) percent.
The public in
general and education authorities even education
minister in particular should take concrete steps
to raise the standard of education in government
schools so that the future of poor students is
saved.
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Sex
workers to fight abuse and exploitation
By Arup De
Only rights can
stop the wrongs" was message of the first
International Sex Workers Millennium mela held in
Kolkata recently. The mela was attended by sex
workers as well as individuals and groups
supporting them from India, Bangladesh, Cambodia,
Indonesia, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Norway and
Australia. It was organised by the Durbar Mahila
Samanwaya Committee, a Calcutta based group whose
membership consists of over 50,000 sex workers.
It focussed on the strategies to be developed for
securing rights for sex workers, in order to
fight abuse and exploitation, as well as demand
education for their children, the recognition of
their families as legitimate and safe and healthy
working condition for themselves. They discussed
strategies for themselves. They discussed
strategies for removing the stigma from their
work as well as providing a platform for
addressing sex per se as a healthy human desire,
not just as an issue to be addressed exclusively
through the lens of violence, abuse, exploitation
and harassment. Their strategy was summed up in a
slogan which read, "We want bread. We also
want roses."
At the session on
the issue of whether sex work is immoral, the sex
workers argued that the question of morality only
obscured the real issues. Women, especially
working class women, have limited economic
opportunities and make the best choices that are
available to them. Second, even if there is work
that people considered as undignified, say
latrine cleaning, there has never been a move to
abolish it. The response has been to provide or
lobby for safety wear and minimum wages and
improve the working conditions of these workers,
rather than to eliminate the work and the worker.
Third, the debate on morality or immorality did
nothing to protect sex workers from the violence
or exploitation they may experience.
There was a debate
on decriminalisation. Unfortunately, there has
been a lack of clarity on this issue, which has
frequently been equated with a demand for
legislation. Sex workers did not ask for
legalisation of their work, as the opponents of
the sex workers rights movement have continuously
tried to assert. They only wanted
decriminalisation of their work. Legalisation
does not help sex workers as it involves
mandatory health checkups, zoning (restricting
sex work to specific zones in the city) and
licensing. Setting up a licensing regime would
merely produce yet another structural hurdle, as
the issuing of licenses would invariably involve
the payment of a fee or bribe. It would not stop
exploitation, but merely shift the location of
exploitation.
Decriminalisation
involves the removal of all aspects of sex work
from the purview of the criminal law and a repeal
of the Immoral Traffic Prevention Act, 1956,
which has been proven to harm more women than it
helps. One reason for this demand is that it is
impossible to secure a conviction of the brothel
keepers, pimps and others without the testimony
of the sex worker. And there has yet to be case
where a sex worker has been willing to testify
against those who provide her with employment and
look after her needs when the States refuses to
do so, or is simply interested in her as a
criminal or as a victim in need or (moral)
rehabilitation.
The sex
worker’s demand for decriminalisation is
also coupled with a demand for human rights.
These would include the right to retain and raise
their children, to be recongised as a legitimate
family unit, to be treated equally with all other
women, and to be able to have an opportunity to
be considered for scholarships and jobs, free of
social stigma, Sex workers are the only community
who are denied the right to parent their children
because of the nature of the work they do. Once
again, some feminists and health groups, such as
the Voluntary Health Association of India, New
Delhi, and Sanlaap, a Calcutta based group, have
argued that sex workers would gladly leave their
work if they had the chance.
Sex workers are
also fighting for women’s rights- that is
for the right to equality, including the repeal
of any section or legislation that makes a
woman’s right contingent on her sexual
conduct. These would include laws that condition
eligibility for maintenance on the basis of a
women’s chastity, or the rule of evidence
which permits the defence to introduce evidence
about a rape victim’s sexual past to be
introduced in court in order to discredit her
testimony.
It was the first
time transgendered persons spoke at such a forum.
They provided moving accounts about the
humiliation and abuse they are subjected to
throughout their lives, simply for being
different. Joya from Drujoy Bandan, in
Bangladesh, explained how she was unable to
complete her college education because of the
stigma and discrimination she experienced. Others
spoke of their rejection by families and fiends.
They were not eligible for jobs, simply because
of their appearance, regardless of their skills
and qualifications. Many were, therefore, forced
to go into sex work to earn a living and because
they were denined any other options. A similar
session was also held for homosexuals and
bi-sexuals, thus reflecting the inclusive
politics of sex workers as well as an important
statement about the need to forge alliances
across different sexual groups and sexual
identities.
Despite the high
energy, articulation and political consciousness
of the sex workers and other speakers, it is very
disconcerting that there was a significant move
to ban this mela. Rammi Chhabra, of the
Independent commission on Health, Delhi, Meera
Siva from the Voluntary Health Association of
India, and Indrani Sinha, convenor or Sanlapp, an
anti-sex workers rights groups, led the effort to
ban the mela. They met with Viren Shah, the
Governor of Calcutta, the Chief Secretary, Manish
Gupta, and other politicians and newspaper
reporters, and appealed to them to condemn the
holding of the mela and promote legislation for
the abolition of sex work. The permission to hold
the conference was withdrawn a day before the
mela was to be held. Fortunately, through the
energy, determination and organisation of the sex
workers, who met with the concerned authorities,
the cancellation order was revoked. It is
unfortunate that these feminists sought to
undermine the mela through an appeal to
undemocratic means. Abolition, incarceration,
censorship and bans are the tools of
authoritarianism.
The issue of
trafficking was also addressed. Participants
questioned the sudden focus on the issue of
trafficking and the law that was being enacted in
many countries ostensibly to curb the problem.
However, it is
clear from the recent legislation enacted in the
U.S., the Trafficking in Victims Protection Act,
2000, is designed to curb migration of certain
class of people, namely "nannies, maids,
dancers, factory workers, restaurant workers,
sales clerks (and) models," rather than to
stop the abuse, and violence that takes place in
the course of trafficking.
It is unfortunate
that anit-sex work groups have supported this
legislation without concern for the fact that it
targets migration and migrants from the South to
the North, and is not directed at the problems of
abuse. Should countries fail to take effective
measures to curb the problem of trafficking then
the Act entitles the U.S. government to withdraw
non-humanitarian aid to that country. This
decision rests with a task force constituted for
the propose of evaluation a country’s
performance in combating trafficking, which is
led by the director of USAID as well as the
director of the CIA.
The only way in
which the harms and abuses in sex work, the
problems of trafficking and of HIV can be
addressed is through the active participation and
leadership by sex workers. To support the rights
of women in the sex industry is to support the
rights of all women. Once sex workers are treated
with respect an equality, are given rights to
housing, health care and safe working conditions,
no other woman will be entitled to anything less.
The sex workers
mela marked an important moment for all
progressive movements – the human rights
movement, the workers movement and the feminist
movement – providing them with an exciting
new direction in which to take these struggles.
As one T-shirt slogan read, "Roadside women
– Show us the way!" INAV
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