Daily Excelsior... Editorial

EDITORIAL

By Samuel Baid

Rural India and mdia : Emerging permutations

By Arup De

Just as the burgeoning numbers of business enterprises in the country are eyeing the rural market to sell their merchandise, the media, too, is following suit. This has led to a bit of an upheaval in the media business with various permutations and combinations being tried out by some of the leading ......more

Indigenisation failure:
who is responsible?
By Maj Gen V K Madhok (Rtd)

It has become fashionable for politicians to divert attention of the citizens by accusing others for their lapses specially when the elections are approaching. And George Fernandes is no exception. Recently, his imputation of the Services for their indigenous .......more

EDITORIAL

Is peace elusive?

Is lasting peace in the sub-continent still a dream? This question would seem out of tune with the present scenario. Cease-fire along the Line of Control and International Border between India and Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir has generated fresh hopes in the region. If at all, indications are that mutual confidence-building measures between the two neighbours are likely to be implemented in toto and, more importantly, with sincerity. After a long time, innocent prisoners lodged in jails in both the countries are being heard and set free. It appears to be a matter of days before train and air links between New Delhi and Islamabad are restored. Expectations are running high that the road link between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad will be re-established sooner than later. There is a strong possibility that Jammu and Sialkot would also be linked by road with each other, restoring the traditional route that had existed before 1947. In such a feel-good environment, why should one strike a discordant note? Why should one even think of derailing such a purposeful process? The answer is provided by a projection of the United States National Intelligence Council. If one believes in what it says, one can forget any chance of normalcy in the sub-continent for the next 15 years at least. In fact, if it is to be trusted then every peace move that has been made in the recent times should go into the reverse gear.

According to this report, both India and Pakistan will continue to build up nuclear and missile arsenals exposing themselves to ‘a fairly high’ risk of war during the next 15 years. There will remain a threat of a major conflict between the two countries overshadowing all other regional issues. What is significant from Jammu and Kashmir’s viewpoint is that the report cautions that the continued turmoil in Afghanistan and Pakistan will spill over into Kashmir and other areas. This, in turn, would prompt India to take more aggressive and retaliatory actions. On a positive note, the US projection is that India will emerge as an unparalleled regional and economic power by 2015. And, what should be worrying the US is its assessment that India’s growth along with China and Russia might result in the formation of a ‘de facto geo-strategic alliance’ to counterbalance America and Western influence. One can only say that it is unfortunate that Pakistan is not included in such an alliance, if it emerges at all. Of course, our neighbouring country is not excluded either which should be a cause of hope that it is not without any chance either of making its own contribution to peace in this region. For the present, however, both India and Pakistan should continue their good work. Their common objective should be to prove the US projection wrong. Given the past record of hostility between the two neighbours, it is easier said than done. But, even if the normal ties between them is a mirage, it is worth chasing.

Tape versus tape

Tit for tat. That seems to be an outdated expression. Waiting to be discarded. Now it is tape for tape. If the Congress can catch Mr Dilip Singh Judeo on tape accepting allegedly illicit money, so can do the Bharatiya Janata Party to get even. The only difference is that the BJP has nabbed —— that is what the party has claimed — Mr Ajit Jogi parting with cash to hire and purchase the newly-elected legislators. As it happens, both Mr Judeo and Mr Jogi belong to Chhattisgarh. The newly-created State has thus made a dubious electoral history of sorts. If the first incident has earned for the BJP the title of Bangaru Judeo Party, it can very well feel jubilant over having exposed the Jogi Gate. Poor Mr Bangaru Laxman, however, had not got the opportunity to establish his innocence. He had to give up his post as the BJP chief the same day he was shot by a camera taking unaccounted financial assistance. Mr Judeo has, on the other hand, established that nobody in the people’s court believes that he can do any wrong. People’s court? This is an instrumentality the politicians devise according to their convenience. Akali Dal leader and former Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal, for instance, is somehow itching that he should get a chance to prove himself in the ‘logan di adalat’ (in the eyes of the people) which has to be distinguished from duly-constituted Lok Adalats. In the case of Mr Judeo, he himself has not figured in the contest but has actively campaigned for his party. Maybe in due course, he gets back his berth in the Union Ministry. One can only regret that what the United States had done years ago, our politicians in Chhattisgarh have learnt only now! One has just to recall the Watergate. Former US President Richard Nixon had also used tapes. He had done so to keep tabs on his political rivals. There was no monetary transaction involved in his business. He had simply wanted to know what his opponents were up to. In a democratic dispensation, his underhand tactics were unacceptable and he had to go. Our system has not developed that inherent strength. Our corrupt and unscrupulous politicians keep bouncing back. They seem to believe that the people are blind or they just shut their eyes to their doings. After all, we have been a feudal society till only more than fifty years ago. The kings can do no wrong — not even in their ultra-modern robes.

It, therefore, looks unusual that everybody is happy that Mr Ajit Jogi has met his nemesis. Including his party which has suspended him. For a bureaucrat who became a politician and then a Chief Minister, it has been too fast a trip to the fame and authority and back to the dustbin of history. Gradually, it will be known who had given Mr Jogi the idea of attempting to split the BJP by dangling the bait of pecuniary benefit. Why he had used the name of party president Sonia Gandhi in the process would also become a public knowledge one day. Worse, who had authorised him to pledge his party’s support to a breakaway faction of the BJP — that, too, in writing — should it bid to form a government? For the time being, he should take all the flak. He has been clever by half. In our State, we would be a little hesitant to frequently use this new addition to political parlance — Jogi Gate. We have a cremation ground by the same name on the banks of the Tawi in Jammu city where we bid emotional farewell to the mortal remains of our dead. In no event, the reputations are burnt there — good or bad. We will have to give it an appropriate twist to suitably apply it to the standards set in far-off Chhattisgarh. We can’t even say that Mr Jogi has gone to the Jogi Gate because that will be in an utterly bad taste. Unless, we mean that he has burnt his own boats. One clear signal that emerges, however, that the modern politics is only for the tough and the thick-skinned. It is not merely Judeo against Jogi in an electoral tussle. It is one tape versus the other tape. Video tape versus the audio tape in the present instance. And, even as numerous radio and television channels keep playing them throughout the day, there is no evidence that it is making any difference to our political class as a whole.

What after the ceasefire ?

By Samuel Baid

Perhaps the best joint gift the Governments of India and Pakistan have given to their peoples on Eidul Fitre 2003 is the declaration that their troops will ceasefire along the International Border (from Madhopur to Sangam), Line of Control or LoC (from Sangam to Pt. NJ 9842 upto where the Line is drawn) and the Actual Ground Position Line or AGPL (from Pt N J 9842 to Indira Col. in Siachen). The offer was made by Pakistani Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali during the course of his address to the nation on November 23 when his Government completed one year in power. The Government of India wasted no time in accepting the offer with an open heart- without insisting on its long-standing demand that Pakistan must stop cross-border terrorism although it keeps the right of continuing its campaign against terrorists in Kashmir.

The ceasefire declaration was welcomed the world over. United States Secretary of State Colin Powell rang up Pakistani Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri to express his country's happiness over this development. Britain, China and United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan all welcomed it. On both sides of the LoC people were excited by the news of ceasefire. Above all, reports said, Indian and Pakistani soldiers, who stood face-to-face with their guns targeting each other, began the ceasefire with exchange of sweets between them. In New Delhi there was great relief although, mercifully, there was no immediate outburst of customary euphoria, thanks to past experiences.

A million dollar question is being asked: Why Pakistan sprang the ceasefire surprise ? Among the replies are :

(1) Pakistan wants to create a congenial atmosphere for the South Asian Assocaition for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit to be hosted by it in January. Prime Minister Atal Bihar Vajpayee will represent India at the summit. But he has said he will not use this occasion for holding talks with Pakistani leaders as they have not yet stopped infiltrating terrorists into Kashmir. On the other hand, Gen Musharraf is reported to have said he is not keen on meeting Mr Vajpayee. But now, under the changed circumstances, there is a possibility of informal discussions at least with Mr Jamali. If that happens. Pakistan can congratulate itself for the success, howsoever partial, of its peace initiative.

There is also a view that with the onset of winter Pakistan feels there is no point in keeping its forces deployed on the LoC and Siachen. In summer, Pakistani troops provide fire cover to infiltrating terrorists into Kashmir. The enhanced activities of terrorists in the past about eight months may mean that enough terrorists have already been pushed into Kashmir during the summer months. Above all, the cost of keeping troops deployed is prohibitive for both India and Pakistan. Gen Pervez Musharraf often boasts of his success in the economic field but the fact is that Pakistan has improved its foreign exchange position mainly through loans, grants and remittance from Pakistanis working abroad. Domestic and foreign investment has not picked up because investors have no faith in the country's law and order machinery.

It is believed Mr Jamali's ceasefire announcement came under tremendous American pressure. The Musharraf-Jamali Government has not been able to convince the world that democracy has been fully resored in Pakistan. The Commonwealth does not accept the current democracy in the country as genuine. The world also does not believe that this Government is genuinely trying to curb Taliban and Al-Qaeda terrorists. It is also no secret to the world that Pakistan's Kashmir policy tries to give a respectable cover to Islamic terrorism.

The above facts are reflected in Gen Musharraf's chat with editors in Islamabad on November 20. He made the following points :

* The US - led coalition forces in Afghanistan may start bombing Pakistan's tribal areas if the Government fails to control Taliban and Al-Qaeda elements.

* Pakistan may suffer from sanctions.

* Pakistan would lose a market of one billion dollars if the European Union withdrew its trade concessions believing it was spreading international extremism.

* China has also complained that Pakistan provided sanctuary to Chinese extremists.

* Musharraf feels he is alone in fighting extremism in Pakistan.

* An impression was gaining widespread acceptance in the world that he himself was backing extremism and terrorism.

* He expressed his willingness to talk to the opposition on his Legal Framework Order. Earlier he detested the idea of talking to the Opposition. He even called Parliament as uncivilised.

It is notable that three days after Musharraf's heartpouring, his Prime Minister made the unilateral ceasefire announcement.

But, perhaps, the actual psychological pressure on Pakistan began building up after April 18 when Mr Vajpayee offered India's hand of friendship to Pakistan. Although these followed irritants like Gen Musharraf's accusations against India in the UN General Assembly in September and Mr Vajpayee's strong reply, the process of normalisation moved on tracks though slowly but steadily High Commissioners were returned to their posts; the Delhi-Lahore bus service was revived; cross-border visits by peoples picked up and on October 22 India proposed 12 Confidence Building Measure to promote greater interaction between the peoples of the two countries. Pakistan's response was partly positive and partly churlish. And Mr Jamali's ceasefire announcement and its quick acceptance by India and very quick implementation, acclerated this process.

Now the question is : What after the ceasefire? Can this ceasefire prove meaningful if Pakistan does not immediately dismantle terrorist training camps and stops cross-border infiltration? And even that is not enough. Pakistan will have to take a second look at its Kashmir policy. Without this there cannot be peace in the region.

And above all, without this Pakistan can never hope to have political stability.

This policy aims to sustain the dominance of a vested interest group at the cost of the country's political, social and economic development.

Rural India and mdia : Emerging permutations

By Arup De

Though it is early days yet, if there is a single noteworthy fallout from this churning, it is the birth of a new genre of communication that could be labelled the ‘alternative media’ till a better term is coined by the pundits.

Media is all about people, as altruism goes. And in India, with over 70 per cent of its 1,043 million populations living in the rural regions, media, to a large extent ought to be catering to the rural mass. Unfortunately, that is far from the truth as media in India, as in most parts of the world, caters to the urban masses.

Here, we are talking about media of the urban, by the urban and very much for the urban people, with occasional forays into the rural world. And largely, these rural forays take place at instances of disasters and human tragedies as happened in the case of the 2001 Gujarat earthquake, when hordes of media, both national and international, made it their mission to hotfoot it to the remotest corners of rural Gujarat. And one has not heard of those villagers ever since.

Rural India is worth looking at as a case study because of its sheer size and spread, and its variety of culture, language, polity, religion and customs. Imagine the clubbing together of some of the major European countries, on the one side, and India, on the other, for the sake of comparison. One is talking about the plight of nearly 700 million people living in nearly 600,000 villages spanning over 150 million household.

The rural reportage by the Indian media, as and when it happens, is conceptualised and executed with the urban reader-viewer in mind. This can easily be labelled as a ‘Zoo Story’ syndrome, where the media looks at its rural constituents as case studies and objects of analysis within a larger picture, its fulcrum being quite urban-centric.

Meanwhile, Rural India has come into its own as a potential market for the big business houses. True, the per capita income here still hovers in the $ 240-300 range as against the great Indian Middle Class of some 50 million that is already in the $ 3,000-5,000 category. But the latter pales into insignificance as sheer numbers advocate the merchant princes to concentrate on the rural expanse for volumes.

Thus you find many a manufacturer, both the made-in-India variety and the MNCs, squeezed by thinning margins and falling demand, turning to the hitherto untapped market called Rural India to sell their wares. Therefore, the new buzz heard in the headquarters of many corporate giants in the cities is rural marketing and e-connectivity to the villages as tools for deeper market penetration.

There are a few e-initiatives that are already successful like the e-Choupal of Indian Tobacco Company (ITC) that has already hooked up one million farmers and traded till date over 1,20,000 tonnes of products and done business worth $ 100 million.

The company, seeing the business sense in this communication model mounted on local language platforms, is looking at raising its present reach of 9,000 villages to 1,00,000 villages and some 1,500 kiosks to 20,000 kiosks over the next 10-years. Then there is the much-documented Amul model, the marketing initiative of the rural farmers of India that has today grown to be the single largest food company in the country.

The Indian farmers have built a Rs. 30-billion company that has put to shame some of the global giants such as Nestle and Levers in product-specific categories.

However, not all can afford to build such dedicated marketing tools for themselves as vehicles to sell their wares in the rural world. It is in this context that the relevance of a common use, multiple access entry tools for the marketing of products in rural India gains importance. And it is precisely for these reasons that an alternative media is lumbering itself into a state of wakefulness.

Thus, it is as per the script penned as a response to the marketing needs of the great Indian bazaar called Rural India, more than anything else that this new media variant has dared to grow.

Significantly, this process of change is beginning at the grassroots level, where the merchant princes are using the local reach of cable TV to sell their wares in small hick-towns and overgrown villages that are today connected by the television. And catalysing this change will be the optic fibre cable (OFC) network that is soon going to connect the remotest corners of the country.

Clearly, what began primarily as a movie channel with religious discourses in the morning and a smattering of song and dance sequences, again from the movies, as fillers, is now threatening to metamorphose itself into a new genre of communication. Here, one is not talking of some futuristic model as it has already been tried out successfully during the December 2002 Gujarat Assembly elections. If anything, the Gujarat experiment with alternative media has proven beyond doubt how potent a communication vehicle it can turn out to be.

It is now history that almost the entire mainstream media, both national and international, had as good as written the epitaph of the ruling party following the communal carnage and the build-up to the polls that followed in Gujarat. There was a great schism between the local and the national media as the latter had predicted a rout of the ruling party in the election a few months later but was found to be badly out of sync with the ground reality.

The fact of the matter is that the ruling party, having comprehended that it had an invaluable vehicle to reach out to the rural masses in the form of cable TV, used it to the hilt. It was a clear case of an urban-rural divide, with the media caught in the crossfire and the Indian mainstream media, failing to feel the pulse of the rural masses.

Thus, the Gujarat elections of 2002 must have been the first documented instance of the emergence of an alternative media in India.

Clearly, the alternative media, with the business houses keen on building marketing links to the rural world, on the one hand, and the telecommunications explosion allowing cable TV access to some of the remotest corners of the country, on the other, is ready for launch. While it is still at a nascent stage and it is only in bits and pieces that it has been utilised by market forces, it is merely a matter of time before its immense potential becomes evident to one and all.

The present model has the cable TV being run on a subscription base, often at astronomical rates for the customers that seems to be climbing rather than coming down.

However, it may not take long before the big business houses see the wisdom of pushing for a new model that could be significantly cheaper for the customer but ensures deeper market penetration for their products.

The sheer scale of economy inherent in such a mechanism may soon give birth to an option that no one in the Indian media business is able to ignore any longer. Simply put, it may be too big a business opportunity for the mainstream media houses to ignore as one is talking of a definite reach into the rural India’s households. Summing up, the media, as far as rural India is concerned, has been hitherto conspicuous by its absence in a meaningful way. This was true in the case of the print media of yore as it is in the case audio-visual media of today, barring a few exceptions where space was diligently dedicated to the rural world on a consistent basis.

On the other hand, even as the mainstream media has chosen to be urban centric and left the rural masses to fend for itself by way of a comprehensive media vehicle, the rural world may have found a communication tool that suits its needs.

It is not that the Indian publication industry has not tried to make inroads into the rural world. Many have started out with regional supplements and later consolidated these into full-fledged regional editions. Some have even donated dish antennae in areas where they had their reach with the printed word, the next step being the launch of local language news coverage through the cable TV. Thus, the next phase could see the print media forging alliances of various hues and colours with local TV channels in a bid to stay in touch at the grassroots level.

At the end of the day, there are no readymade answers as to how the mainstream media can face up to this challenge as each entity would have to fashion a response tailor-made to suit one’s peculiar market compulsions. What is true is that much of this response would depend on the degree of preparedness with which each entity faces up to these challenges. And a big step forward would come from researching this new phenomenon, rather turning a blind eye to the development. INAV

Indigenisation failure: who is responsible?
By Maj Gen V K Madhok (Rtd)

The issue of Indigenisation is much larger then it appears. Rightly said: If we dont indigenise, we will perish. Because all the money of tax payers will be spent in purchasing arms and equipment, spares, replacements, even carrying out overhauls and upgradations from abroad. Indigenisation and self reliance in military hardware are therefore inescapable requirements for India. The players in this game are: the DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation), the QA (Quality Assurance Directorate), the Ordanance Factories, private industry, Services, the MOD (Ministery of Defence and Defence Production) and of course the foreign countries who are supplying weapons and other military hardware to India.

The 43 Ordnance Factories-employing 1,85,000 workers under an Ordnance Factory Board which are meant for defence production, the DRDO-employing nearly a lac of scientists in 40 sophisticated research laboratries for research and producing prototypes before handing these over for commercial production and nearly 120 QA establishments, all dealing with defence production and research are accountable to the Raksha Mantri (RM) and not the Services. The Services have no control over them. In fact, there is a major communication gap here. These powerful establishments are run like private empires and the Services wont even know as to what is cooking there. The working of these establishments can only be understood by an intelligent professional and certainly not by a politician who is running around to remain in public eye.

Further, the Service Chiefs are accountable to the RM. If that be the case, then George is accountable for his as well as his Ministry's performance in the last five years. And one will be fully justified to question as to why Indigenisation has remained a mirage durng his tenure? Why the Private industry is hesitant and not willing to touch major defence projects? Is it due to a maze of intractable procedures and delays? If so, then what has George done to streamline these? And why should the Services place large orders for the LCA or the Arjun tank knowing fully well, that these are powered with American and British engines? Besides, it is common sense to aver, that Russia, Israel, Sweden, Italy, France, UK, South Africa or the US-India's suppliers, wont let the Indian arms markets go out of their hands where they have three ready made clients: the regular services, the police and para military forces and of course the militants, Naxalites, separatists and the insurgents. It is in their interest, that separatist movements or the confrontation between India and Pakistan or China continues so that, they can sell their new as well as dispose off the junk in the Indian market. In case they dont do so their arms factories will close down. In addition, why has the Defence Minister not appointed a Defence Indigenisation Council instead of the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) set up with much fanfare on Aug 30, 2001 to speed up Indigenisation and streamline acquisition but which has shown no visible or positive performance in the last two years.

When the DAC was set up, it was felt that all will be well with procurement, production and research of military hardware requirements of the three Services. That corruption will be checked. That delays in acquisition will be eliminated. And with the availability of data from the MOD displayed on the webside, transparency will be achieved.

But the DAC has ended up as merely a coordinating agency for the MOD, QA, DRDO snd the others. Further, constituted as it is, bereft of representation from the Private industry and the business community, scientists and intellectuals, the DAC has not been in a position to impel or motivate the Private industry and Government run PSUs to march faster towards Indigenisation. Because, well thought out processes and procedures for long term forecasting and in turn placement of orders are already there. It is their non implementation which is the problem.

A major flaw in the DAC is, that the crucial issue of Indigenisation and self reliance, it seems, has been left out deliberately. There is not a word about it in the announcements made by the RM, MOD or the media. Therefore, the pitiable situation about Indigenisation is that after 56 years of independence, India continues to have a long whopping shopping list which will continue to escalate in view of new technologies or as a result of arms race with rival neighbours.

This list includes: T-90 tanks from Russia-each tank costing nearly 20-30 crores, to replace the older lot as Arjun has yet not been totally accepted by the Army and may even become obsolete by the time it goes into large commercial production. In addition, 60 AJTs for the IAF from UK, AK 47s from Rommania with its ammunition from a third country, an aircraft carrier from Russia, fast attack boats (Naval) and RPVs from Israel, engines for the LCA and Arjun from the US and UK respectively, mine detectors from Sweden and so on. The Tax Payer has no option but to shell out more as the Defence Budget for 2004-2005 goes up by atleast another 15,000 to 20,000 croes.

If one analyses the circumstances which led to Tehelka like episodes and whether India can avoid their occurance, one warning comes out loud and clear: Foreign arms manufacturers have created a situation in South Asia where India and Pakistan have become the most flourishing arms markets. And they have succeeded beyond their dreams.

The bottom line is, that foreign arms manufacturers need markets to dump obsolete arms and equipment besides selling second and third generation military hardware decaying in their warehouses or lying in the facories. If the markets are not there, these will be skillfully engineered with the assistance of ‘Facilitators’ which include defence agents, lobbyists, corrupt politicians, bureaucrats and some low grade service officers. All methods are fair so long as these fetch profits.