EDITORIAL
Bogus
'services'?
Among the first
decisions of the previous government when it came
to power were the sweeping promotions/inductions
into the KAS. During the first year itself that
Government issued nearly half a dozen induction
lists, granting the status to hosts of personnel
many of whom had retired long back. It was called
regularization of services as if the State
Government would not have been able to function
properly without the retired and retirees being
granted the privilege and perks of KAS.
Incidentally, the real regularization of the
state civil service was made during the
Governor’s rule in 1993 and 1995 when a
comprehensive notification listing the services,
rules for competitive examination, conduct
thereof and recruitment to the services, and
induction into the coveted KAS was, issued. That
was also when the first regular examination for
the combined services was held after a gap of
fourteen years. What was not done then has not
been done since though much has been undone.
In fact, the only
contribution to ‘regularization’ by
that elected Government was postponing the first
regular, rule-bound examination, twice. The
notification of 1995, patterned after the Union
Civil Service examination envisaged holding the
competitive examination every year. Then popular
Government took over and only three examinations
have been held during the past eight years.
Another ‘regularization’ was the
arbitrary change in the quotas and feeding
serdees for the KAS. Contrary to the popular
impression, the combined examination is not entry
into the KAS. That entry comes after
‘induction’ from among the direct
recruits and the promotees from only sixteen of
the eighteen services listed in the notification.
The direct recruits are given an edge, which is
the norm all over the country. The rules in this
state too accept the logic of that principle but
the practice here is characteristically muddled.
Thus the quotas for induction are said to have
been changed many times during the last ten years
in addition to the ones mentioned.
Unofficial
versions say that those changes were made to
accommodate favorites and blue-eyed boys,
including sons and wards of the influential, who
could not clear the examinations. Officially it
is all in the ‘interests of
administration’. That ‘interest of
administration’ demanded that dozens of
retired officials be ‘inducted’ into
KAS post haste! At other times, the plea is to
give representations to other services and
cadres, without laying clear- cut rules and
procedures for it. Thus one of the last
inductions had ‘technical quotas’ which
vanished thereafter. The present State Government
has picked the practice (infection?) and inducted
people from the so-called Kashmir Administrative
Officers Service, and Secretariat Service
(Private Secretaries) when no such services
exist, either in 1993 rules or 1995 notification.
It is alleged that many people there are old
favorites who had been ‘denied’ the
‘favor’ and have maneuvered their way
into the KAS; else there was little need for the
Government to worry over inductions in its very
first full-cabinet meet. The Government may need
officers, but why must it manipulate rules,
change quotas and issue sly SROs every time it
does it. It certainly does not need to muddle the
much-muddled rules.- One, in fact, expected the
new government to bring in transparency and lay
down clear rules to consolidate the hopes
generated by its accountability talk. Instead, it
has gone in for another re-do in the old fashion.
It is these deviations, which have turned the
coveted service into an almost bogus service.
School
timings
The parents heard
with gratification the order of the Divisional
Commissioner that schools should open at more
humane timings instead of the early morning. The
change has, no doubt, been brought about by the
extreme cold prevailing in the division, but
there is a need to review the timing for schools
for the winter months on a permanent basis. Most
of the schools retain the early- morning timings
of the summer with only half an hour or so
relaxation for the winter. By some convoluted
logic this timing is said to be conducive for
teaching when in fact it is hugely discomfiting
for the school going children. Even as the office
timing for the winter changes to the humane 10 to
4, the children are forced to stick to the summer
pattern and timings. In fact, ‘better’
the school, more stringent it is in enforcing the
inhuman timing! Thus some schools are said not to
have complied with the order changing the timing.
It is difficult to see how the opening at seven
or eight goes to make for a better learning when
all are shivering under the chill.
Thanks to the
illogical policy and practice of forcing the very
young-beginning with three and half years’
age-to the school drill, the tiny tots have to
shiver in the morning cold and fog waiting for
their buses or trudging to schools which
practically refuse to see that the season has
changed. If any body thinks that the children are
being taught to rise of early mornings they have
only to see how these very children do not stir
out of bed before nine on Sundays and holidays.
Indeed, there is no reason why the children
should be subjected to this harsh schedule when
the schools can conveniently open at ten and
close at four in the winter. Logic and
circumstance requires that the schools should
have different timings for the winter and the
summer months. While early morning is good for
summer it is a hardship in winter. It neither
adds to discipline nor inculcates any good habits
in the children. It does not even help imparting
education in a proper and comfortable atmosphere.
While that change is mandated for the Government
schools the private ones have curiously been left
out of the scheme to the constant distress of the
children, parents as well as the teachers.
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Ture
democracy at Discount in republican India
By Kedar Nath
Pandey
Republic
Day is meant to cele-brate the attainment
of the fi-nal stage of freedom from
British rule. Though August 15, 1947, is
known as Independence Day, in fact, India
was given only dominion status then. This
was an in-between stage that the Congress
leaders had rejected earlier, but were
persuaded to accept. Documents of the
period establish that, tired of the
freedom struggle, they were motivated by
the attractions of office. Some younger
leaders like Jayaprakash Narayan were
unhappy with this compromise. They wanted
a clean break with the past, fearing
continuance of the British colonial
system of governance and administration,
which they felt, could not possibly bring
about the social transformation promised
during the freedom struggle.
Their
fears proved to be justified; continuity
rather than change was the theme of the
process, as reflected by the British
description, "Transfer of
Power". The levers of control passed
from a White to a Brown elite; the system
remained the same. Continuity was
symbolised by the appointment of the last
British Viceroy, Lord Louis Mountbatten,
as Governor-General of the Indian
dominion; in this capacity, he continued
to owe allegiance to the King to whom he
was related.
Only on
January 26, 1950, India could claim to be
fully free, when it proclaimed itself a
sovereign republic. But it is unclear
from the Republic Day ceremony whether we
are meant to celebrate freedom from or
subjugation by Britain. For, while it is
appropriate that the ceremony begins with
a salute to the Unknown Soldiers,
representing the men of the armed
services who have give their lives in the
service of their country, the location is
hardly suitable. Above the flames of the
Amar Jyoti, not one of the names
chiselled into the arched walls of India
Gate is that of a solider who died in any
of the many battles fought since 1947 to
protect Independent India. They are of
men who died in the First World War or
1914-18, on foreign soil, preserving
Britain’s imperial possessions.
(India Gate was originally called War
Memorial). Yet, on a day dedicated to the
achievement of freedom and a national
commitment of democracy, our rulers see
nothing inappropriate in honouring
soldiers who fought to extend and protect
British imperialism. The emphasis on
continuity prevents recognition of the
transformation of mercenary troops
fighting to preserve foreign rule into a
national army shielding independence.
The
emphasis on parades on national
occasions, in New Delhi as well as the
State capitals, is the hallmark of
colonial and authoritarian regimes. What
is being demonstrated is the might of the
state, not the power of the people. It
would seem that the armed forces and the
police won freedom. There is no ceremony
for, or memorial to, those who actually
gave their lives in the freedom struggle.
They have been completely forgotten.
The Army
continues to glorify its imperial past.
Senior regiments commemorate their
traditional links with mercenary units
that fought battles for Britain, under
British command, against indigenous
forces. Battle honours won putting down
locals defending themselves in Abyssinia,
Sudan, Egypt, China, the Middle East,
Afghanistan and elsewhere are still
treasured. Some dubious honours gained
extending British rule in the
subcontinent itself have been termed
"repugnant". But the Army
authorities do not seem to consider it
repugnant to national sentiment for an
elite armoured regiment still to be named
Hodson’s Horse. Its founder, Captain
William Stephen Raikes Hodson, was the
officer who earned notoriety by shooting
the three sons of the last Mughal
Emperor, Bahadur Shah "Zafar".
They were killed in cold blood, after
they had surrendered in 1857, on what is
today Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg.
For the
armed services any tradition that
promotes operational efficiency can be
justified. Whether commemorating battles
fought for foreign rulers, to secure
their objectives, actually inspires men
to fight better for their own country,
however, seems far-fetched. A tradition
of unquestioning obedience may be of
value, though that too far, as instances
of arbitrary misuse of authority now
being brought before civil courts have
shown.
In a
democracy, the Civil Lines culture is
even less justifiable than in Army
cantonments. Though the Indian Civil
Service had been previously condemned by
the Congress for providing the
"steel frame" of British rule,
its members continued to play the same
role in independent India. Special
provisions were made to guarantee their
emoluments and privileges. This was not
as injurious as the continuance of the
Civil Lines approach in district
administration, in which district
officers resided in relatively palatial
houses at a safe distance from those whom
they administered. The distance between
rulers and ruled was maintained. The
Indian Administrative Service has
inherited the same style; in fact, our
Constitution contains a series of
safeguards for the top bureaucracy not
known in any other country.
Far from
setting a different example after
Independence, as Mahatma Gandhi had
hoped, the Congress leaders to whom power
was transferred, showed themselves eager
to adopt the colonial culture and its
comforts. The President moved into the
viceregal palace, renamed Rashtrapati
Bhavan, despite Gandhiji’s plea that
the structure be convered into a hospital
or some other institution for the poor,
as an example of change. The new state
governors moved into the same political
buildings in which their British
predecessors had lived, complete with
ADCs. Jawaharlal Nehru moved from a
bungalow into the palatial structure
previously occupied by the last British
Commander-in-Chief. Mountbatten is
reported to have advised him that the new
Government needed an image of majesty to
be accepted. Democracy was at discount.
The
pattern spread throughout India. In State
capitals senior officers where obliged to
share their Civil Lines enclaves with
ministers. In New Delhi, more and more
spacious bungalows, fitted up much better
than when occupied by senior British
officials, have been taken over by
ministers, MPs and those with political
clout. They do not always pay the
pittance charged as rent. Despite its
poverty, India is leading the world in
providing comfortable housing and other
facilities, at nominal cost, to
ministers, legislators and bureaucrats.
In London, Washington and other
democratic capitals they find their own
accommodation and pay the market rent.
The
inherited colonial approach remains the
antithesis of democracy. Concentration of
power survives behind a façade of
decentralisation; the people are still
not trusted. Procedures for devolution of
authority are nullified by reserve powers
that are exploited to override the system
whenever those in authority feel
threatened.
Instead of
promoting self-reliance, the colonial
cult of obliging people to seek favours
from above is perpetuated and the
distance between the ruler and the
administration, typical of colonialism,
is maintained. Political parties have not
lagged behind in concentrating power.
That is at the root of the mounting
discontent with the system. INAV
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When
they sang their songs themselves
By A C Tuli
Old order
changeth yielding place to new," is
a universal truth. But there is
definitely a streak of sadness about this
truth. Take, for instance, film music. In
the early years of the talkies, when
technology was not so developed that
playback singing could be introduced in
films, heroes and heroines of films had
to sing their songs themselves. Though
most of them were just tolerable, quite a
few created a niche for themselves in the
world of film music.
In the
1930s and 1940s, it was K. L. Saigal who
stood towering over all other
singer-heroes of his time. While most of
them had gained entry in films either
because of their good looks or for their
ability to act well, Saigal came to films
primarily because he had all the
qualities of a great singer in him. And
it was his good fortune that the music
directors - Pankaj Mullick, R.C. Boral,
Timir Baran and others --- under whose
baton he sang, gave him good grooming.
Hence the songs Saigal sang in films and
outside became craze with the cinegoers
of those days.
Some other
well-known singer heroes of that time
were Surrendra, Ashok Kumar, Karan Dewan,
Moti Lal and a few more. Among
singer-heroines of those days, Noorjehan
and Suraiya topped the list. Khurshid was
also an accomplished singer who proved
her worth opposite K. L. Saigal in films
like 'Bhagat Surdas' and 'Tansen.'
In
Calcutta, New Theatres made films in
Hindi as well as Bengali. The leading
singer - heroine of Bengali films was, of
course, Kanan Devi. Pankaj Mullick also
worked in a few Hindi films and sang some
memorable songs.
Other
singer-heroines of those days were Devika
Rani, Snehprabha Pradhan, Leela Chitnis,
Renuka, Nasim Banu Kajjan, Wahidan,
Biboo, et al. But all of them have now
been forgotten. Their songs are a
collector's item. Only those who are
interested in vintage film music enjoy
listening to their songs.
Noorjehan
and Suraiya were not just good singers
but also glamorous actresses who charged
astronomical sums to work in films.
Noorjehan had a greater range of voice.
Her singing charmed Lata Mangeshkar, and
when she began singing in films, she
imitated Noorjehan. But soon she evolved
her own distinct style of singing.
After K.
L. Saigal's premature death in 1947, the
film industry had no other singer-hero to
take his place. Mukesh and Talat Mahmood
worked in a few films and tried hard to
mould themselves as singer-heroes a la
Saigal but they failed.
However,
there was one young man who was destined
to fill the void very soon. He was
Kishore Kumar. The one and only Kishore
Kumar that our film industry has proved
so far.
Kishore
Kumar was only eleven years old when he
sang his first film song. That was in the
Bombay Talkies' film 'Bandhan' (1940). He
sang this song along with his brother
Ashok Kumar and Leela Chitnis, the
heroine of the film. Therefore, he got
the chance to sing a solo in the film
'Eight Days' (1946). It was the one and
only film directed by Ashok Kumar.
Kishore
Kumar began as playback singer with
Bombay Talkies' Ziddi (1948), starring
Dev Anand and Kamini Kaushal. In the
1950s, he started working as hero in
films. Soon he gained popularity as
singer - hero of Hindi films. But Kishore
Kumar was often seen as comic hero in
films. So most of the songs he sang in
films were light comic songs. And the
music directors of those days so
underrated his singing talent that even
for films in which he acted as hero, they
would sometimes invite Mohammed Rafi or
Manna Day to playback for Kishore Kumar,
if the song to be picturised on him
happened to be a serious, raga-based one.
In 1960s,
Kishore Kumar began to slip in viewers
estimation as singer-hero. Came a stage
when for a few years he was completely at
a loose end --- neither work in films nor
playback singing assignments. It was then
that S.D. Burman came to his rescue.
Burmanda infused a new life in Kishore
Kumar's singing career by recording his
songs for the Rajesh Khanna - Sharmila
Tagore starrer 'Aradhana' (1969). The
songs of 'Aradhana' proved chartbusters.
Kishore Kumar's star was once again in
the ascendant. Film-makers literally made
a beeline to sign him for singing songs
of their films.
Rajesh
Khanna's popularity touched dizzy heights
after the release of 'Aradhana'. He
considered Kishore Kumar his lucky
mascot. So he began to stipulate that
only Kishore Kumar would sing his songs
in his coming films. In short, after
'Aradhana' there was no looking back for
Kishore. But though the film industry had
found in Kishore of 1959 a totally
rejuvenated singer, it sadly lost for
ever a singer-hero.
All this
while Bollywood had to do without a
singer-heroine. After Sauraiya had
retired from films, there was no other
singer-heroine to take her place. When in
the late 1970s and early 1980s Sulakshana
Pandit started appearing in films as
singer-heroine, for a while one thought
she would prove a worthy successor of
yesterday singer-heroines. But,
unfortunately, Sulakshana Pandit could
never make it to the top. She starred in
a few B and C grade films and then
completely vanished from the film scene.
Among film
actors of the last quarter century, Danny
certainly had a singer's voice with a
charming ethnic touch to it. But
film-makers were more interested in the
villain that he could portray on the
screen than in the songs that he could
sing in their films. Amitabh Bachchan,
because of his superstar status, sang a
few songs in films, but he never aspired
to become a singer-hero.
Today, the
film industry is manned by people who
believe in hardcore professionalism and
strict departmentalisation of various
aspects of film-making. So it is not easy
now for even top notch heroes and
heroines to encroach upon the domain held
tenaciously by established playback
singers. Besides, very few film-makers
are ready to experiment with unfamiliar
singing voices for their films.But there
is still some hope of a singer-hero
emerging in the near future. Sonu Nigam,
one of our leading playback singers, is
now working hard to establish himself as
singer-hero in films. Though his debut
film 'Janni Dushman' proved a fiasco at
the box-office, he is quite hopeful of
making it big in his coming films. If he
succeeds, he would be the proud inheritor
of a tradition that began with K. L.
Saigal and was well sustained by Kishore
Kumar from the mid-1950s till the late
1960s. PTI Feature
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Media
ignorance of Ayurved
By Dr Bharat
Bhushan
The media
almost ignored the World Congress on
Ayurved held at Kochi in Kerala in the
first week of November 2002. Such a
conference was held for the first time.
The Government had accorded it a
semi-official status. The Union Minister
for Health and Family Welfare inaugurated
it. Except a few agency reports, nothing
much was reported. No editorial comments,
no articles were published thereafter.
Not even the Kochi declaration issued at
the conclusion of the Congress was
mentioned in the reports.
Why did
media not accord due importance to such a
Congress described as a mega-event by a
few? Is the media ignorant of or
indifferent or hostile towards Ayurved?
To a great extent, the answer is 'yes'.
But the reason for ignoring the Ayurved
Congress appears to be much more. It was
hidden in the very organisation of the
Congress. It was Vijnan Bharati- an RSS
pseudopodia, which organised it. RSS
chief K Sudershan happens to be its chief
patron, who presided over the valedictory
function of the Congress.
Just
before the event, exclusion of non-RSS
organisations was opposed, as per media
reports. No wonder WAC was ignored,
thanks to cleverness or clumsiness, or
both, of the organisers. The duplicity of
the whole of the RSS gang including over
what they consider Swadeshi, Bharatiya
and Hindutva, and needless to say,
Ayurved, is identified with all the
three.
No doubt,
Ayurved suffers in the media due to its
ignorance or indifference or just plain
hostility. A few examples will suffice.
More than a decade ago, in Delhi, some
persons died on Diwali eve after they
consumed some poisonous substance in
liquid form. The media branded it as
''sura'' tragedy and does so even today.
The fact that it was pure
alcohol-industrial alcohol-which was sold
with the labels of Mrit Sanjivini Sura-
an Ayurvedic medicine- on the bottles was
overlooked. Thus Ayurved got a bad name
that it did not deserve.
Another
example is of the treasury scam from
Uttar Pradesh involving the Directorate
of Ayurvedic and Unani Services, under
which crores of rupees were siphoned off
from government treasuries spread over
all the state. Ayurved per se has got
nothing to do with it. But media
immediately dubbed it as 'Ayurved Scam'.
When spurious glucose saline claimed
innocent lives in Mumbai several years
ago and was probed by Justice Lentin, the
allopathy system was not blamed, instead
manufacturers, suppliers and purchasers
(authorities) were singled out.
The latest
example is of Sunita Rani. In her case,
Liv-52- an Ayurvedic medicine,
manufactured by Himalaya Drug Co.- was
sought to be blamed. A major English
daily of northern India carried a 'big
story' on it. The fact is that Sunita
Rani, on the advice of her coach, took
some hormonal preparation to postpone her
periods. Hence she tested positive for
dope. Initially, no doubt, Sunita Rani
and her coach did not reveal it. But even
after it became known, the authors of the
'big story' did not correct themselves,
what to talk of apologising for the lapse
on their part. Partly, no doubt, the firm
is responsible. It simply did not care to
clarify that Liv-52 contain nothing that
produces steroids. There are several
plants which produce steroids on being
consumed, whether alone or in
combination. The body itself produces
them naturally.
The Kochi
declaration had not been sent to the
Union Government till December as stated
in the Rajya Sabha in reply to a
question. One wonders how this
declaration will be accepted and acted
upon by the Vajpayee Government with
Shatrughan Sinha as Union Health
Minister, because the Union Cabinet had
already approved (on October 4, 2002) a
national policy on Indian systems of
medicine and homoeopathy.
Surprisingly,
this policy was not presented in the just
concluded session of Parliament nor given
to others, including the media on the
pretext of such a presentation being
'confidential'. This saffron hypocrisy
will only bring a bad name to Ayurved in
the long run. Along with Ayurved,
Sanskrit and yoga too are being
saffronised. Both Sudershan and Joshi
have talked about Sanskrit being taught
to students of modern sciences, including
medical sciences.
The need
is there, no doubt, to broadbase their
vision and familiarise with the
scientific wisdom of India. But the
dangers are there for everybody to see as
'Karmakand' and Phalit Jyotish
(predictive astrology) are also being
propagated. Are we heading for the day
when in the science laboratories
homam-pujan will be done and Shubh-Ashubh
(good-bad omens) will be taken into
consideration before launching
satellites, criticalising atomic plants,
manipulating genes etc.
Ayurved
and systems like it are facing the
onslaught of forces of the market, as per
the World Disaster Report, 2000 issued by
the International Red Cross Society and
the Red Crescent Society. In addition, it
is also faced with the danger of being
communalised. Already, Ayurved is
referred to as Hindu medicine,
notwithstanding the contribution of
Jains, Buddhists and tribals. Similarly,
Unani is promoted as Islamic medicine,
despite numerous (dwindling since mid-70)
Hindu practitioners of the system as
well, as it is not an official system of
medicare in any of Islamic countries,
including Pakistan. Soon 'Siddha' may be
dubbed as 'Dravid' system. Thus, racial,
casteist and communal categorisation of
Indian systems of medicine may be the
order of the day.
The issues
concerning healthcare in general and of
Ayurved particularly deserve better
coverage in the media. Mere reporting of
the sad state of public health system and
profiteering by the private sector while
glamorising it and some research
findings, even unsubstantiated sometimes,
are not sufficient.
The
country now has several policies
concerning health. From the National Drug
Policy (under a stay order from the
Karnataka High Court) to the National
Health Policy with the National Policy on
Indian System of Medicine as well as the
national policy on AIDS and ii) blood. A
separate National Policy on Dental Health
is also demanded.
The health
of a people is dependant upon non-health
factors like clean environment, safe
drinking water, adequate and balanced
diet, clothes, shelter and social
security. Therefore, what is needed most
is to develop a holistic system of
halthcare with Ayurved as its sheet
anchor.
Ayurved
has survived not only the colonial
neglect, but also the post-independence
betrayal, thanks to worldwide interests
in alternative systems, including
Ayurved, due to widespread disenchantment
with what is called conventional or
mainstream medicine, but known popularly,
as allopathy. This has happened despite
apathy of our leaders, planners,
technocrats and bureaucrats.
Ayurved
deserves its due place in the media not
only the health theme pages, but also on
edit page. Media has to shed its
ignorance, give up its indifference and
say good bye to hostility. This is more
true about the English language media.
Ayurved is
more than Dadi/Nani-ma-ke Nusekhe. It
is basically preventive against diseases
and promotive of positive health.- CNF
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