Women poliicians- Always winners

By Uma Ramachandran

Beautiful women always have it easy, right? You think they lead a blessed life, attracting admirers by the dozen and shimmying up the professional ladder with nary a hiccup on the way. Competition withers before lovely women, doesn't it, and doors swing open wherever they go?

Well, maybe they do at times. But, hey, a beautiful woman may also find those doors firmly and resolutely shut. For truth be told, beauty isn't always the kind of password to success that it's cracked up to be. And a woman with drop dead gorgeous looks-unless she is in showbiz-may actually find the going tough because of the tide of envy and hostility she provokes. Votaries of political correctness may shake their heads in bemusement, but fact is, beauty can be a beast. What's more, it's almost the perfect excuse to undercut a woman's competence and intelligence.

Writer and columnist Shobhaa De, who knows all about the realpolitik of social sniping, agrees: "A beautiful woman has to fight prejudice and envy most of her life."

Not convinced? Think Brinda Karat, the beauteous CPM politburo member. It has taken her long years to ascend to her party's highest body. But even now the elegant and urbane Mrs. Karat is a relative political welterweight amidst such heavyweight women pols as the shrill and shabby Mamata Banerjee, the shriller and hell-raising Mayawati, or the quintessential behenji Sushma Swaraj who packs a punch with her inch-long sindoor and po-faced platitudes.

In the hurly burly of Indian politics, nothing succeeds like excess, and these women make it a point to be as dramatic and strident as possible. Karat too has been trying hard to get ahead in the stridency stakes-during the Nandigram imbroglio she advocated a dose of Dum Dum dawai (mob lynching) to those opposing the CPM there. But despite these rabble-rousing tactics, maybe her sophisticated looks continue to be a sticking point. Though her friends and associates deny this strenuously, maybe the glamorous 60-year-old former Miss. Miranda (she won the Miranda House beauty contest in 1963) simply cannot command the political heft that-and let's be polite-here the ornery Mamatas and Mayawatis do.

Interestingly, Hillary Clinton recently refused to appear on the cover of Vogue for fear that she would look too "feminine". Her decision led Vogue editor Anna Wintour to write frostily, "The notion that a contemporary woman must look mannish in order to be taken seriously as a seeker of power is frankly dismaying."

But Clinton, whose appearance has been feverishly and pitilessly dissected by the media, and whose choice of attire is an androgynous pantsuit, knows that she must pull off a complicated high wire act. While as a woman, she can't afford to appear too masculine (read, domineering), looking "too feminine" could also scupper her chances when she is trying to blast into the biggest male bastion of 'em all-the US presidency. Clearly, Clinton knows that in the high power world of politics, a Maggie Thatcher or an Angela Merkel scores much more than someone who looks too good for comfort.

Nor is politics the only arena where beauty or femininity can prove to be a hindrance rather than a help. Take tennis star Sania Mirza, for instance. Had her face not been as fetching as her forehand, it's unlikely that she would have been targeted quite so viciously for this or that religious or moral "infringement". Had she hidden her sexiness behind loose shirts and longer skirts, and played down her oomph, chances are that people would have concentrated more on her game and less on showing her up as a controversy-prone, irreverent hellcat.

Hostility apart-men too may turn against a beautiful woman if she is an able competitor and is unlikely to grant sexual favours-an ugly prejudice that many good looking women have to contend with is that beauty doesn't go with brains. Remember that old stereotype of the dumb blonde?

Mandira Bedi, she of the "noddle strap" cholis and mega watt smile, admits that she faces this prejudice daily. When she stepped out of the tinsel world of TV serials and appeared on a cricket show, which was hitherto a cosy men's-only club, she was immediately dubbed a bimbo. "I don't know if people thought I was beautiful, but they certainly thought. I was dumb," says Bedi. Even now, she says, when she does corporate events, people "explain things to me in tremendous detail as though I were a nitwit."

De points out that even worse than not being taken seriously, a good looking woman will find her success being constantly questioned. "She will find herself an object of slander, with nasty implications that she has achieved whatever she has by trading on her good looks. Which is why, adds De, especially in corporate life, government and politics, beautiful women are often forced to play themselves down in order to be considered less threatening in the workplace.

Nayantara Palchoudhuri does just that. A typical Bengali beauty, with fine eyes and long, lustrous hair, Palchoudhury runs three tea estates and has served as the first lady president of the Bengal National Chamber of Commerce. "I mostly dress like a grand mom," she says, laughing. "When you are out working, you have to underplay yourself a little."

But why is the combination of beauty and brains such a lethal cocktail that the former needs to be toned down to make sure that the latter isn't ignored? And why is a woman's physical allure immediately taken to be proof of her mental deficiency? Indeed, studies too suggest that this is so. For instance, a 2005 study in the US by Lawrence University psychology professor Peter Glick found that attractive women managers who dressed sexy "evoked hostile emotions" and were "deemed less intelligent".

It's ironical that beauty should have the power to evoke such negative vibes when there's a whole flourishing beauty industry out there feeding off women's endless quest to achieve it. But perhaps beauty achieved-buffed, polished or liposculpted-is infinitely more tolerable than that infinitely rare thing, the true and natural beauty a woman is born with.

Of course, not everyone agrees that good looks can be a burden in the workplace. Ritu Beri, the fashion designer one always tended to confuse with a fashion model, has this to say: "Beauty is a gift of god. I have never felt it to be a disadvantage in any way."

So maybe there's hope for someone like the luminous Priyanka Gandhi. She just needs to wait around in the wings, add the weight of years-and perhaps a few strategically placed grey hairs-to give herself the necessary gravitas. Right now she is too darned good looking to pass muster. INAV

Hurriyat dilemma over Zardari's remarks
TALES OF TRAVESTY

By Dr. Jitendra Singh

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Asif Ali Zardari's pragmatic and a rather bold suggestion not to hold Indo-Pak relations a hostage to the Kashmir issue has added a new dimension to the Kashmir Hurriyat Conference's already existing dilemma.

In today's rapidly emerging scenario, Kashmir infact poses a dilemma for the Hurriyat leadership as much as for the polity in Islamabad even as both the parties continue their unconvincing attempts to convince the people of the Valley that they have not given up their stand regarding Kashmir and yet prefer to move on. Ironically, notwithstanding the changing realities in the subcontinent, Kashmir continues to be a ‘‘core’’ issue not so much for political or diplomatic reasons but more so for reasons of survival of the Hurriyat in the Valley and the survival of powers-that-be in Islamabad. To that extent, both the Hurriyat and and also other socalled separatist political outfits have a stake in keeping the Kashmir pot boiling. With nearly two decades of protracted militancy in the State, militancy itself has become a deep vested interest sustained in the ‘‘holy’’ name of Kashmir and its socalled ‘‘Azaadi’’. Obviously, therefore, most of the Valley's socalled separatist or semi-separatist activists find it difficult to reconcile to Asif Zardari's views about leaving Kashmir aside and focussing on more vital issues between India and Pakistan.

The problem with the Hurriyat is that it does not want to appear to be antagonising the popular Kashmiri sentiment by causing road-blocks in the peace efforts between India and Pakistan while at the same time it also cannot risk allowing its political shop in Srinagar to close down. This has led to a state of embarrassing confusion in the Kashmir separatist camp. Adding to this predicament is their ambiguous stand over participation in the forthcoming elections to Jammu and Kashmir Assembly and their unconvincing reasons for bycott of elections. Because, ‘‘Azaadi’’ or no ‘‘Azaadi’’, if their patrons in Pakistan were ready to go through the test of ballot, what prevents these self-styled Kashmiri leaders from proving their representative strength by joining the election fray particularly when the whole world acknowledges that an election in India is any time far much fair and genuine than the one in Pakistan.

Realising that Pakistan's road to progress and prosperity lies in its improved economy, the ruling Pakistan People's Party in Islamabad is reported to be in favour of certain initiatives which could help open the vast Indian market to the benefit of business entrapreneurs and unemployed youth from Pakistan besides offering education and vocation avenues at a much lesser cost than what is incurred in going to distant destinations like the US and Europe. To the discomfiture of Hurriyat leadership, Pakistan People's Party leader Asif Ali Zardari has minced no words in stating that trade and economy will be the PPP Government's top priorities which means that the new regime in Islamabad is not prepared to allow the economy to remain a hostage to the Kashmir issue even though for populist consumption the Kashmir swan song can continue.

There is a message which is accompanied by risk if left unheeded. The wheels of time move forward, never backward. The sooner the Hurriyat leadership understands this, the more it can avoid the prospect of its isolation. The sooner the common man acts on this, the more he can benefit from the incredible new vistas of advancement unfolding on the world horizon. Poet drops the cue for Umapathy ‘‘ Waqt Ke Andaz Se Bekhabar Rahte, Waqt Se Pahle Na Waqt Guzar Jaye Kahin!’’

Inflation - a global threat

By S. Sethuraman

Oil and food prices, soaring to new heights, have rudely shaken the world economy, already in a slowdown phase with the ongoing financial market turmoil and credit crunch related to US sub-prime mortgage crisis, which has also pushed the American economy toward a recession. While all this is having ripple effects on stock markets around the world, and the Euro-zone is hit by the spillovers, especially the falling dollar driving up the euro, as well as the price surge, there are uncertainties ahead as the US housing crisis is far from easing and jobs in the world's largest economy are shed.

It is not clear how long all this would last and what negative impact is likely for emerging economies, especially Asian including China and India, whose dynamic growth was helping to keep the world economy afloat hitherto. While the two countries hope to maintain robust growth, even if it moderates a little, in 2008, inflation has emerged the biggest risk factor and even energy-efficient industrial economies, outside USA, can no longer absorb the ever-rising costs of oil.

Inflation has certainly outpaced other concerns for large parts of the world, not excluding the industrial economies themselves. OECD says industrial country CPI averaged 3.5 per cent, above their benchmark, in January while in USA it was 4.3 per cent with core inflation(with volatile oil and food prices) rising by 3.4 per cent year-on-year, just above the comfort zone for the central bank though FED has over the last seven months lowered short-term rates by 225 basis points to 3 per cent. Shift in US monetary policy is focused more on averting a recession.

Whatever the factors leading to oil prices crossing the 100 dollar a barrel mark in the new year - and it touched 108 dollars on March 11 - and food prices doubling or trebling, with rising demand and grain stocks at record lows, inflation has come to pose the mot serious threat to economic stability globally. China and India, major source of growing demand for energy and food, will bear the brunt of volatile oil and high food prices, which have already stoked inflation to 8.7 per cent and 5.02 per cent in the two countries respectively in February.

India's budget, basically aimed at keeping the growth engine moving at not less than 8.5 per cent, may be under-cut by the resurgence of inflation, which cannot be easily tamed in the present global conditions. China's consumer price inflation, mainly driven by high food prices in the wake of severe winter and snowstorms which devastated farms, had been rising from over 6 per cent in November last to hit a 12-year high of 8.7 per cent in February.

With inflation already at nine-month high of over 5 per cent in India, greater external dependence on oil as well as wheat to offset shortages for the public distribution system, would push up prices further via imports. At the same time the subsidy bill would go up reflecting Government's inability to make a pass-through even when the Indian crude basket average has crossed the 100 dollar mark. Other essential imports like metals and edible oils with double digit rises would have the same effect on prices.

Finance Minister Mr. P Chidambaram has acknowledged that inflation management without disrupting growth would be the critical challenge in 2008-09 for both supply side and monetary policy, which is complicated by the surge in capital inflows as well as the volatile global markets. China's Premier Wen Jiabao told the National People's Congress (Parliament) on March 5 that fighting inflation was Government's highest priority with a tight monetary policy. But his price target of 4.8 per cent in 2008 looks out of reach at least in the first half of the year, given the unexpected rise to 8.7 per cent rise in February.

After another double digit GDP growth at 11.4 per cent last year, Mr. Jiabao set a modest target of 8 per cent for 2008 but economists are confident, despite the price upsurge, partly seasonal, and global uncertainties, China would manage to maintain its growth momentum somewhere between 9 and 10 per cent. "We must keep a watch on global developments and take prompt and flexible measures responding to them," Mr. Jiabao said. For India, it is a difficult 'balancing act" to maintain growth even at 8 per cent and yet contain inflation at or below 5 per cent over the year.

While India is importing inflation, manufacturers generally have not promptly responded to the Finance Minister's appeal to hold the price line or lower prices for goods covered by the duty cuts in his budget. The only positive response so far has been from the automobile industry with price reductions announced for cars and two-wheelers. Far from being reluctant to lower prices (cement and drugs), the producers in some cases have raised the product prices (steel, paper) at a time manufactured articles along with food items are contributing equally to the current level of inflation. Costly imports of oil with rise in energy demand and food to supplement domestic supply can accelerate the pace of inflation, apart from inflicting huge terms of trade loss.

Oil exporters (OPEC) did not agree at its March 5 meeting to increase their daily output of some 32 million barrels a day (mbd), contending that the market is well supplied when economic growth is weakening and instead contend that rising crude prices are due to the falling dollar and speculator activities. Others attribute the escalation (to as high as 108 dollars a barrel on March 10) to a tight supply market, apart from geo-political developments. The International Energy Agency estimates oil demand in 2008 at 87.6 mbd, despite the projected lower US and global growth, and says lower demand there would be more than offset by demand growth in China and the Middle East.

IMF, changing its tune, now concedes recent price surges cannot be solely demand-driven which economies could absorb hitherto but by other factors. But it sticks to its model of lower demand this year moderating oil prices. Globally, what is worrisome is the coupling of the oil and food prices, which, according to a senior World Bank official, have "devastating implications for global poverty and food security".

Oil importers find it hard to budget for energy costs and volatility has also hurt economic growth, investment and trade, says Mr. Graeme Wheeler, the Bank's Managing Director. It has also increased fertiliser and transport costs and stimulated bio-fuel production. In the US, for example, a quarter of the maize crop - representing over ten percent of global output - went into bio-fuel production this year. Together, higher energy prices, drought, and rising demand have led to a 75 per cent increase in the price of staples since 2005, he noted. (IPA)

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Delimiting the electoral boundaries

By Saumitra Mohan

The exercise for another delimitation of the physical boundaries of the electoral constituencies for various legislative assemblies and the national Parliament has been underway for quite some time. It is learnt that the final recommendations have already been submitted to the Government. It is not before long when the same would be formalised through a parliamentary enactment and subsequent presidential notification.

Delimitation literally means the act or process of fixing limits on boundaries of territorial constituencies in a country or a province having a legislative body. The job of delimitation is generally assigned to a high power body. Such a body is known as Delimitation Commission or a Boundary Commission. In India, such Delimitation Commissions have been constituted four times i.e. in 1952, in 1963, in 1973 and in 2002.

The Delimitation Commission in India is a high power body whose orders have the force of law and can not be called in question before any court. These orders come into force on a date to be specified by the President of India in this behalf.

According to Article 82 of the Constitution of India, upon the completion of each census, the allocation of seats in the House of the People to the States and the division of each State into territorial constituencies shall be readjusted by such authority and in such manner as the Parliament may by law determine.

Pursuant to the enactment of a Delimitation Act by the Parliament, the Central Government constitutes a Delimitation Commission which demarcates the boundaries of the Parliamentary Constituencies as per provisions of the Act.

The Delimitation Commission, set up under the Delimitation Act, 2002, for the redelimitation of all the Assembly and Parliamentary Contituencies of India (except Jammu & Kashmir) on the basis of 1991 census, has been carrying out its task for the entire country since the year 2000.

As soon as the delimitation order of the Delimitation Commission is finalised, the existing constituencies will cease to exist and would be replaced by the new constituencies, that is, redelimited constituencies. This would necessitate reworking of the finally published electoral rolls and recasting them in conformity with the newly redelimited constituencies.

The present delimitation of electoral constituencies is based on the 1971 census figures. Notwithstanding the above, the Constitution of India was specifically amended in 1976 so as not to have delimitation of these constituencies till the first census after 2000.

The 84th amendment in 2001 provided that until the relevant figures for the first census taken after the year 2026 have been published, it shall not be necessary to readjust the allocation of seats in the House of the People of the States as readjusted on the basis of 1971 Census and the division of each State into territorial constituencies as may be readjusted on the basis of the 2001 Census.

So far, the Constituencies carved out on the basis of 1971 census have been continuing. After the census data for 2001 was released on 31st December, 2003, a new delimitation exercise was, therefore, necessitated to bring the constituencies to conform to the new figures.

After almost three years of painstaking work, the Commission, which was constituted in 2002 and began its work in the middle of 2004, has almost completed work in all the states barring four states in the north east.

The Centre, in fact, the deferred the delimitation exercise in four north-eastern states and Jharkhand due to unresolved ‘problems’ of shifting the rural seats from urban seats by approving amendments to the Delimitation Act 2002 and has reportedly decided to promulgate an ordinance soon. It is believed, the amendments to the Delimitation Act, 2002 would take care of the concerns expressed by the delimitation exercise in Assam, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh due to the situation prevailing there.

The Delimitation Commission in the meanwhile has concretised its proposals and has redrawn the boundaries of Lok Sabha and Assembly constituencies. Work has been been completed in 513 of the 543 Lok Sabha constituencies and 3,726 Assembly constituencies in 25 states resulting in a net addition of ten seats for Scheduled castes and scheduled tribes in Parliament and 68 in the Assemblies.

Accordingly, the next Lok Sabha elections are likely to be held in redrawn constituencies once the President notifies the recommendations, an exercise that has already made many politicians unhappy. The Delimitation Commission Chief Kuldeep Singh, a retired judge of the Supreme Court, also concedes that there would be some politicians who will be unhappy over these changes in constituencies, but feels by and large political parties are not opposed to the exercise.

If many politicians do not feel happy about the exercise, there is a reason for that. After all, every politician has been contesting and getting elected from the same constituency every five years for the last 30 years. He or she knows who his voters are and is, thus, familiar with the necessary details of his/her constituency. Since the limits of almost all the constituencies have been redrawn, the typical Indian politician is definitely going to be inconvenienced in more ways than one.

Hence, his/her dislike for any change in his constituency. But the exercise is too important to be left to personal likes or dislikes of individual politicians. The newly redelimited boundaries of constituencies better reflect the electoral realities on the ground and no petty political considerations should be allowed to influenced their enforcement.

One just hopes that the redelimitation of electoral boundaries coupled with the other electoral reforms would further reinforce and consolidate the foundations of our fledgling democracy. Now that the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has also declared that the next general elections shall be held as per the newly redelimited electoral boundaries and the there has been an overall consensus on such an exercise is itself a testimony to the strength of our democracy. - (PTI)