Daily Excelsior... Editorial

EDITORIAL

The Deputy Prime Minister’s advice to the Inter State Council meet to take up the issue of tackling terrorism as the main agenda for the council after the concern with the Sarkaria Commission recommendations have been completed, is not only a timely but is strategically fruitful too. Today there is hardly a State in the union that does not see one kind or the other of terrorism plaguing it. If there are extremists of nationalism playing havoc with the life of the people in the northeast, the east is riddled with the war groups who have apparently holy but devastating agendas. Where there is nothing else there is the ubiquitous ISI with its networks of terrorists and gang-men from other appendages undoing the sweet promise of this nation. From extreme north to Deep South they seem to have the run of the place. Akshardham terrorists were coordinated from hide-outs in Poonch; local machinery was in place to carry out Mumbai blasts. Even the southernmost tips in Tamil Nadu and Kerala are increasingly coming under the spell of these subversives.....more

Fruit packages

New expert, new
Kashmir formula

By B L Kak

Bilateral dialogue between India and Pakistan over outstanding issues---Kashmir is one of them--has yet to start. But the game of floating proposals or advancing suggestions vis-a-vis the Kashmir dispute between the two nuclear states seems to have got quite interesting, with characters from India......more

Protecting the land

By Om Prakash Chawla

Bringing minorities
in mainstream

By Subhashis Mittra

The minorities are an insepara-ble part of Indian society. They live amidst their majority brethren and share their mutual joys and sorrows. The minorities have contributed significantly to the development of Indian society and culture. They have become an integral part of the Indian society.......more

EDITORIAL

Yes, fortitude…

The fight against terrorism is not a ‘Kashmir special’ so to say, though the contours as well as the course here is definitely special. Indeed, today Madhya Pradesh is as vulnerable as Maharashtra, UP, Delhi or Himachal Pradesh. Or, the two communist dominated States, which are more terrorist-affected than the outskirts. They definitely are no less affected than those in the heartland. It, indeed, is naive to believe that terrorism is a limited phenomenon or localized because of political or economic factors. It is an agenda that has the whole nation as its target and that is its truth. The sooner that truth is realized the better. The idea of the Inter State Council as the forum for the different States to evolve strategies for tackling this common threat is quite wholesome. Let all States, rather all parties admit that they have been politicking with vital security concerns. Security has to be above all politics. So has economics, the whole gamut of development and activities there under, though one sees even foreign policy being roped in, rather roughened up in the political arena. That is the road to destruction. It has to stop.

When it comes to security, there can be no compromises, no prevarications, no politicking. Mumbai blasts are as good a signal for this nation as the proxy war going on in this State for a decade and half now. Far from being tackled it has only spread. From the Valley it has taken the whole of the State under its grip. From one State it is now a national threat. Yet the response to this growing threat is not only fractured but often appeared to be misdirected. There are few people in this nation today who clearly see terrorism. There are very few parties that are ready to accept the truth of terrorism. Probably none is fully prepared to meet the challenge and threat that may be knocking at its doors. There fortitude would be needed. But the first need is to recognize the looming danger, to see it before it shows us the devastation it can bring. Why, grit and courage are needed even to tell this enemy! That is the fortitude, foresight and determination, the nation needs summon today.

Fruit packages

One of the recent decisions of the agriculture ministry is to extend and implement vigorously the exemption of toll tax for the various dry and fresh fruits produced in the Valley. The tax exemption that was earlier available for-or, as the ministry says ‘applied to’-apple and walnuts alone has now been extended to cover all the fruits produced in the Valley. On the face of it this appears to be a ‘needed incentive’ for the fruit growers there: exempt tax, rescue the producers and give production a fillip. But a deeper analyses shows that it is nothing but one more of the populist sops the Government has now become habitual of doling out to certain sections irrespective of the need or the benefit that may or may not accrue. Fruit is high light of valley produce. It is also big business there. The growers generally are not ‘poor’ but well to do agriculturists; they are resourceful and have used the State incentives over the past decades well. Of course, that is a tribute to their enterprise.

That enterprise has seen them acquire all implements of production; they pay a hefty 60 to 100 rupees per box for packaging apples, for example; a good majority owns trucks for transportation. And they are doing fine. Fruit is one industry that, thankfully, has not been touched by terrorism. It has grown by leaps and bounds, as terrorism shut all other activities and engagements forcing people to devote themselves even more to it. Good thing, that. That is how it earns 1000-1500 crores in annual income. Does it need the Government sops, especially when it means curtailing the meager sources of income that this Government has? Probably, subsidizing fruit in the Jammu region could have some meaning because the farmers here find it less remunerative. Encouraging fruit production in Jammu would give the State a breadth in production and add another dimension to it. Thus, for example, along with world famous apples this State could also produce quality mangoes, amruuds and possibly oranges too. But exempting a sector that simply does not need the ‘incentive’ is playing to the gallery rather gaudily. Remember, this State has a narrow tax base and needs to mobilize every source there is.

New expert, new Kashmir formula

By B L Kak

Indeed, these characters have had the benefit of more-than-necessary publicity in the two countries. History bears testimony to the fact that it all started with Owen Dixon's meeting with Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, then Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, on June 10, 1950. Dixon, who had acquired high repute as judge of Australia's apex court, the High Court, came to the subcontinent as United Nations mediator on Kashmir on May 27, 1950.

Dixon had his Kashmir formula publicised not only in India but also in Pakistan. And following his meeting with Dixon on July 26, 1950, Jawaharlal Nehru agreed with his (Dixon's) definition of the Valley of Kashmir as the area within the top of the watershed of the mountains surrounding it. But Nehru did not concede Dixon's argument that the eastern boundary of the strongly Muslim territory to be allotted to Pakistan would have to be well east of the cease-fire line (now known as Line of Control).

The July 20-25 Nehru-Liaquat parlays in Delhi under the aegis of Owen Dixon failed. But Dixon immediately hit upon the partial plebiscite idea--the Dixon plan, as it is still nostalgically recalled in Kashmir.

More than two decades later, in 1978, Jammu and Kashmir State was categorically told about 'American plan' on the region's would be geographical features. In the last week of April 1978, as the Indian Minister for External Affairs, Atal Behari Vajpayee, was on an official visit to the United States of America (USA) to ensure, among other things, that Washington evinced greater interest in promoting support to and friendship with New Delhi, an American, named Nelson Rockfeller, arrived in Kashmir on a 'secret' mission of much importance.

His arrival in Srinagar followed his brief stay in Delhi. Officially, Nelson Rockfeller travelled as Governor of New York and a former Vice President of the United States. Unofficially, he was a contact of the US State Department. His 'secret' mission was to find out reaction from Sheikh Abdullah, than Chief Minister, to the American move to seek an Indo-Pakistan settlement on Kashmir by dividing the State along the Line of Control (LoC), after minor adjustments.

Four years later----that is after the death of Sheikh Abdullah in 1982--- the people of Jammu and Kashmir in particular and rest of Indian population and Pakistan in general got a new Kashmir formula, loosely called 'Farooq plan'. Yes, author and architect of this formula is none other than Farooq Abdullah.

In plain language, the 'Farooq plan' envisages settlement of the Kashmir issue by allowing the present Line of Control to be converted into the international boundary. The 'Farooq plan' has takers even among the Kashmiri Muslims, although the fact remains that the idea of partition, first proposed by Owen Dixon, is baced by figures ranging from the hardline secessionist leader of Kashmir, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, to the Prime Minister of Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK), Sikandar Hayat Khan.

During the Kargil war in 1999, India's back-channel negotiator, R K Mishra, was reported to have discussed the idea with his counterpart in Pakistan, Niaz Naik. And in a recent interview, Naik claimed that the idea was ''being considered seriously by the White House.''

The idea has been named as ''Chenab formula''. Doda sits on the faultline that partition-enthusiasts seek to convert into a border, the Chenab river. The areas to the north of the Chenab in Doda tehsil (Jammu region) have a Muslim majority. And those to its south are mainly Hindus.

Kishtwar tehsil (Jammu province) is again dissected by the Chenab, with the northern valley systems of Marwah and Wadwan populated by Muslim majorities. To the south, the Macchel valley systems, and the tehsil of Bhaderwah, are Hindu-dominated.

Now, we have a new Kashmir expert with his new Kashmir formula. It is called the 'Buch formula'. Author of the formula is Mohammed Yusuf Buch, who has had his significant achievements as a 'competent' aide of Pakistan's prominent personalities, namely, Zaffarullah Khan and ZA Bhutto.

Yusuf Buch is a Kashmiri intellectual. He cannot be ignored, considering the fact that he has had association with Kashmir case at the United Nations from the day it was brought to the world body by India in 1948.

A media report from Washington says that Yusuf Buch's Kashmir formula wants: (a) India and Pakistan should agree to pull back their forces to an agreed distance from the border, (b) the two countries should drastically cut the size of their forces inside the State (both Indian Kashmir and Pak-controlled Kashmir), (c) bring the Siachen glacier confrontation to a close, (d) release of all political prisoners in J&K, (e) declare complete freedom of speech and movement from one end of the State to another, and (f) demarcate Kashmir into its five natural geographical cantons for the holding of referenda and give birth to a unified interim State Assembly for a final disposition.

Buch has rejected the Line of Control as a solution because, in his opinion, the 'line of conflict' cannot be a solution.

The Buch formula may not be acceptable to all in India and Pakistan. But Yusuf Buch has projected two points New Delhi and Islamabad should not ignore. First, it is irrelevant to settling the Kashmir problem as to how India and Pakistan are placed in current power alignments because alignments, he aptly points out, can change while the settlement is to be 'permanent'.

Second, Buch has urged India and Pakistan to look at Kashmir not as a dispute between the two of them but as a problem of both of them.

Protecting the land

By Om Prakash Chawla

By AD 2010 India’s population, which is new around 1,020 mil-lion, will cross the 1,200 million mark. Such a large population can be fed and clothed only if we make the best use of the country’s land and water resources. But while water is replenishable resource the soil is, for all purposes, a non-renewable and irreplaceable asset. It therefore makes sense to consider the problems of land management first and only thereafter those of water management. Such an approach will in fact show that both problems require the same set of solutions. If we are able to look after the land properly, the problems of water management will be automatically resolved.

Out of a total land area of 266 million hectares as many as 175 m. ha suffer from degradation, caused for the most party by soil erosion, but also by waterlogging and excessive salinity. This means that, on an average, at least two out of every three acres of land in India is today in poor health. It is also known that at least half the sick land, i.e. one third of the total, is almost completely unproductive. Another one-third is partially productive and it is only the remaining one-third, which is in good health. It should be obvious, even to a superficial observer that there is no earthly chance of eradicating poverty, or even surviving as a self-respecting nation, so long as such a state of affairs persists.

The most serious threat to the soil is posed by deforestation. This result in soil erosion, which affects over 150 m. ha of land. Over half of this is under cultivation. It is impossible to calculate the loss caused to the economy by these processes because apart from the progressive loss of productivity which results from soil erosion the displacement of the top soil also causes the premature siltation of costly and often irreplaceable reservoirs to the detriment of irrigation, flood control and hydel generation. Again, displaced soil raises the beds of rivers, thus reducing their water-carrying capacity. This in turn causes more floods.

The excessive run-off of rainwater along denuded slopes also reduces its percolation into soil and sub-soil strata and reduces the recharging of ground water aquifers. Thus an invaluable resource, which would otherwise have been available for round-the-year use as ground water is lost to the sea, often after it has wreaked terrible flood havoc on the country. Flood and droughts are thus both caused by poor land management.

This simple hydrological fact has, however, yet to be fully grasped by the country’s decision makers and planners who continue to suffer from what Dr. Sudhir Sen has described as "resource illiteracy". Thus, disproportionately large sums continue to be pre-empted for big irrigation projects in the mistaken belief that these offer a panacea for all our ills, even as acute problems of deforestation, denudation, soil erosion and sedimentation remain neglected for want of a sufficient awareness of the terrible toll they take of the economy.

Waterlogging and salinisation, which constitute the second major threat to the soil, have already claimed 13 m. ha and threaten many more. The lands affected are for the most part situated in canal-irrigated areas and have suffered because of the absence of adequate drainage. Thus, by a supreme act of mismanagement the very lands on which the highest sums have been invested in the past are now threatening to go out of cultivation altogether. This situation calls for the provision of adequate water distribution as well as drainage systems in all canal-irrigated areas as a matter of the highest priority often prevention is always better than cure.

If the irrigation establishment is still thinking in terms of gigantic new projects–including some for the linking of river systems and the creation of a "national water grid", the reason is to be found in its deeply rooted habit of treating canal irrigation as an end in itself, instead of only a means to raising the productivity of the soil. These ingrained thought patterns could be corrected only if we make the raising of the productivity of the soil and just the provision of water our goal, and examine the options before us in the light of the constraints on our resources.

Canal-irrigated areas, which account for around 50 per cent of the total net irrigated area of around 45 million hectares, offer the greatest scope for a quick increase in production. According to the Tenth Plan document, thanks to the absence of field channels and proper land shaping and drainage system over vast area, the productivity of canal-irrigated land is on the average only 30 to 51 per cent of what can reasonably be expected from it. The government must therefore give the highest priority to the completion of command area development and drainage work on such lands even if this involves the slowing down or postponement of new irrigation projects. For it obviously makes better economic sense to put existing irrigation potential to optimal use first and save precious land from further damage by waterlogging and salinisation than to create additional capacity which, under existing policies, is bound to remain under-utilised, and may well pose a grave hazard to the soil.

The 20-odd million hectares of agricultural land, which is served by ground water, faces comparatively fewer problems. This is so because of the intrinsic nature of this resource, which lends itself beautifully to development by individual farmers at little expense and in record time. However, the very attractiveness of this resource creates the danger of its over-exploitation. This can result in an abnormal lowering of water tables, and in areas where there are saline aquifers adjoining sweet water aquifers–as is often the case in coastal regions–it can result in a saline "infection" of the latter. Thus, there is need for a systematic investigation of the nature and recharge characteristics of groundwater aquifers and imposition of controls over withdrawals wherever these are called for, but, above all, steps need to be taken to segment the replenishment of ground water by taking comprehensive forestation and soil and water conservation measures in the watersheds.

In devising a rational irrigation strategy the government must take into account of the many natural advantages of ground water over surface water as a source of irrigation. No expenditure has to be incurred on either storage or conveyance of ground water; no land needs to be acquired for both the reservoir or canal systems, and no seepage losses –which often amount to 50 per cent of the water released from the reservoir –have to be incurred. Ground water is also not lost through evaporation either during storage or transit.

Again, surface water schemes have very long gestation periods–often running into decades–which are responsible for heavy cost escalations, whereas tube-wells can be installed and commissioned within a matter of weeks, if not days. Land shaping for ground water use can be carried out by the farmer himself without reference to the lie of surrounding lands, whereas in canal irrigated areas such work must be done in a coordinated way on all the lands served by a single outlet.

The problems of water distribution and drainage which cause waterlogging and salinisation in canal irrigated areas are also almost non-existent. In areas served by ground water because there is no seepage from canals and no interference by the latter with the natural drainage of the area. The farmer can easily plan his own distribution system and is careful not to apply an excess of water to the land. Lastly the farmer can use water for irrigation exactly when he wants to, without the intervention of a big and often corrupt bureaucracy.

It therefore stands to reason that wherever it is felt necessary to supply water to non-irrigated lands, the full potential for exploiting ground water should be exhausted before turning to the surface water options. What is more, while planning new surface irrigation projects, the government should take into account the full cost of items like command areas development, drainage and the rehabilitation of oustees from submerged lands. In the past such costs have been often underestimated for cosmetic reasons. INAV

Bringing minorities in mainstream

By Subhashis Mittra

The minorities, namely, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Parsis constitute about 18 per cent of the country's population, according to the 1991 census. Among them, Muslims are the largest community, constituting an important web in the social fabric of India. Despite their glorious past and outstanding contributions to the Indian society and culture, they were left behind for historical reasons. At the end of the colonial rule they found themselves educationally backward and economically degraded.

The founding fathers of the Indian Constitution envisaged equality of opportunities for all citizens irrespective of creed, caste or gender. Articles 14 and 15 were incorporated to ensure equality and prohibit the State from the discriminating against any citizen on the basis of religion. Not only that, the founding fathers also incorporated Article 30 to give the minorities the right to establish and administer their own educational institutions.

Given their numbers, the minorities constitute an important human resource. It has been the endeavour of the State since Independence to ensure their empowerment through education and promote their economic development. The recent years have witnessed a tremendous upsurge in these activities.

Lauding these efforts, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, at a recent National Convention on Minorities, urged the minorities in general and the Muslims in particular to go in for modern education. He said "Education is an investment for development, for progress and for a better future."

Way back in the latter half of the 19th century, Sir Saiyyed Ahmed Khan wanted the Muslims to shun their educational backwardness and deprivation by going in for modern education. He set up institutions of learning and suggested modern education as a panacea for the ills affecting the Muslims. Yet his efforts touched the problem only on its fringes with a majority of them, particularly among the poorer sections, remaining deprived of modern education.

The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment being the nodal Ministry to ensure social justice to the weaker sections of society, has taken several initiatives to meet the challenge.

It has involved Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) for broader participation of the target groups. The Ministry has set up the Maulana Azad Education Foundation, a non-profit social service organisation with the objective of promoting education among the backward sections of the minorities, particularly the Muslims. It is funded by the Ministry.

The Maulana Azad Education Foundation provides financial assistance for setting up new schools and expansion of the existing ones. These include residential schools and construction of hostels for girls belonging to the educationally backward minorities. The main focus of its schemes is to promote education among girls from the minority communities.

In order to meet the requirements of modern economy, the Foundation lays greater stress on promoting vocational and technical training among the target groups. It has been providing financial assistance for strengthening vocational and technical training centres. Under another scheme, the Foundation assists NGOs in providing coaching to students belonging to the educationally backward minority communities to enable them compete in equal terms with other candidates in competitive examination for jobs and admission to institutions of professional, technical and higher learning.

The Foundation has so far assisted over 424 NGOs in 21 States and Union Territories by providing them grants-in-aid of Rs. 59.19 crore. The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has earmarked Rs. 30 crore for the Foundation during the 10th Plan to raise its corpus to Rs. 100 crore. The Foundation finances its activities from the interest accused from the corpus fund.

The Central Wakf Council, constituted to protect Wakf properties, also promotes education of the Muslims. It has set up an Education Fund with donation not exceeding six per cent on the loans advanced by it to the loanee Wakf institutions for maintenance and development Wakf properties. The interest accrued on the bank deposits of the Revolving Fund of the Council is also credited to the Education Fund. Out of it, the Council provides grants for educational purposes such as scholarship to students, promotion of technical education and for setting up book banks.

The Council's expenditure on educational activities doubled from Rs. 53.6 lakh in 1997-98 to Rs. 1.19 crore in 2001-02. The Council provides scholarships to poor students at the rate of Rs 6,000 per annum for pursuing technical or professional education and Rs. 3,000 per annum as ad-hoc grant to poor and needy students for general degree courses. It has provides matching grant to State Wakf Boards for giving scholarships to students studying in schools, madrasas and those undertaking technical and professional diploma courses.

The Council has released 8,076 scholarships to the students of technical degree courses like MBBS, BUMS, B. Tech., B.Sc and agriculture so far. Similarly, more than 1500 poor and needy students have been provided ad-hoc grants. As many as 596 voluntary organisations have been assisted for imparting technical and voluntary training.

The Central Wakf Council, under a newly-launched scheme, also provides grant for establishing Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) in areas where the Muslims are concentrated. Nine industrial training institutes have been sanctioned. Five of them are in Uttar Pradesh, three in Bihar and one in Orissa.

One of them in Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh is exclusively meant for training girls. Each ITI is provided assistance of Rs. 15-20 lakh per annum for the first three years as cent per cent grant. Subsequently, the grant is reduced to 50 per cent in the 4th year and to 25 per cent in the 5th year. Each ITI is required to give vocational training in three area-specific trades in addition to various other vocational jobs.

Pre-examination coaching is one of the important tools of mainstreaming the minorities and weaker sections of the society. The scheme is based on economic criteria of the minorities to enable them to compete on equal terms with other candidates in competitive examinations for various services and admission to professional and technical institutions. The entrance examination to services include those in Central and State Governments, public sector undertakings, banks and the private sector. The Centre shares 90 per cent of the expenditure for running coaching programmes by universities and NGOs.

Institutions run by the State Governments are assisted on a 59:50 basis. However, cent per cent assistance is provided in case of the Union Territories. Over 45,700 students have benefited under this scheme of financial assistance to 567 training institutes till the end of 2002.

In addition, the Ministry of Human Resource Development is running educational development programmes in minority - concentrated areas. Altogether 325 blocks in 13 States and three Union Territories and four districts in Assam are being provided with basic educational infrastructure facilities under the Area - Intensive Programme for Educationally Backward Minorities. The Ministry is also running a scheme for modernisation of the madrasas. They are given financial assistance for teaching of science, mathematics and social studies.

The welfare of minorities would be incomplete in the absence of economic empowerment. Against this backdrop, the National Minorities Finance and Development Corporation (NMDFC) was set up in 1994 to promote the economic development of the notified minorities. The corporation provides loans for self-employment and other ventures for the benefit of the minorities. It gives preference to occupational groups and women.

The Corporation has three major loan schemes. Under the Terms Loan Scheme, loans are provided for projects costing upto Rs. five lakh. Such assistance is available for commercially viable ventures in agriculture and allied sectors, technical trades, small businesses, artisan and traditional occupations and transport and service sectors.

The other scheme known as Margin Money Loan Scheme meets the requirement of margin money asked by bankers to the beneficiaries availing bank finance. For this purpose, loans upto 25 per cent of the project cost subject to a maximum to Rs. 1.25 lakh per unit is made available.

NMDFC had given financial assistance through the State Channelising Agencies to over 1.19 lakh beneficiaries with a cumulative disbursement of Rs. 435.53 crore till the end of December, 2002.

However, the major problem is of the poorest of the poor who need very small loans with quick delivery at their doorsteps. Approximately 80 per cent population among the target groups is constantly in need of small loans for sustaining their existing employment or for generating further employment besides meeting varied personal and social needs. Traditionally, this requirement was met by money lenders who, instead of helping borrowers, worsened their plight.

In course of time, it has been realised that provision of credit is an instrument of socio-economic change and development. This can be met with the provision of soft loans that also liberates the poor from the clutches of moneylenders. The Corporation has come up with schemes of micro financing to meet the credit needs of the poor. The maximum amount available under micro finance is Rs. 10,000 and the size of average loan is Rs. 5,000. It has recently launched the Mahila Samridhi Yojana for empowering the poor minority women. It envisages training of the beneficiary before provision of micro credit.

About 50,000 beneficiaries were assisted with nearly Rs. 8.40 crore under micro-financing till 2002. This included micro credit of Rs. 7.80 crore to over 20,000 beneficiaries and interest-free loans of Rs. 64 lakh to the NGOs for organising Self-Help Groups covering over 30,000 beneficiaries.

PTI Features.