Dr Ashwani Mahajan
Common man, who was disgusted by the mismanagement under the ten year long UPA’s rule, was looking at the Budget 2014-15 with a great hope. Whereas salaried class was hoping for raising of exemption limit to rupees 5 lakh and reprieve from inflation, SSI’s for raising exemption limit for excise duty, youth for employment, and industry at large for kick start of manufacturing growth; almost all sections wanted something from the government for happy days.
Though health of the economy has been said to be not good; Finance Minister had aroused the hope for 5.4 percent to 5.9 percent growth in GDP. It is true that rate of inflation has come down marginally, however manufacturing sector has been passing through worst condition. Danger of monsoon failure is also, not a good sign for economy in general and agriculture in particular.
Different people evaluate the budget differently. If we ask salaried youth, budget has helped him to reduce his tax burden by raising exemption limit; and more deductions allowed in terms of savings, home loan interest repayment etc. Foreign investors may be happy due to raising of caps on FDI in defence and insurance; and some more facilities for FIIs. However evaluation of the budget is never good, if it is done partially. It would be better to evaluate budget according to the aspiration of the people in general.
Employment and Employability
According to the census 2011, 4.7 crore youth between 25 and 34 years of age are unemployed. Situation is even worse in care of Adivasi and dalit youths. They need employment. Budget does talk about apprenticeship scheme and skill development to improve employability; however for the creation of more employment opportunities we will have to change the production system and the overall development model. Everybody accepts (even the supporters of globalisation), that the model of development adopted under LPG, is a model of jobless growth. But it is ironical that the present budget is not in much variance with the budget/policies of the previous regime.
Manufacturing
The experience in the last two decades has been that the share of agriculture in GDP has come down from 25 percent to 13.5 percent. The share of manufacturing which had started increasing marginally, has again come down to around 15 percent of GDP. People in the government had been talking about raising the same to 25 percent. In the last one year the rate of growth of manufacturing has come down to -0.7 percent, after remaining near zero percent in two years before that. It was obvious expectation from the budget that it would boost manufacturing. It is correct that steps have been initiated for National Investment and Manufacturing Zones, 4 industrial corridors, including Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor, creation of additional capacity in main manufacturing industries etc.. However budget has failed to identify and address major causes for manufacturing downfall namely high interest rates and huge imports especially capital goods from abroad. If we really want to boost manufacturing, we will have to reduce interest rates. High rate of inflation is the major cause of high interest rates. Therefore, combating inflation should be top on government’s agenda, apart from curbing imports, especially from China which include imports of electronics, electrical goods, power plants, capital goods, telecom equipments etc. Budget has failed to address this major irritant to the growth in manufacturing.
Inflation
It is good that the FM has not increased taxes and has also tried to limit government expenditure and keep fiscal deficit within 4.1 percent of GDP. In fact the best way to combat inflation is keeping check on expenditure by rationalising subsidies. But at the same time supply side is also very important, especially supply of food products. To boost production of food products we need to encourage agriculture. But this budget despite talking high about agriculture and farmers (especially 7 lakh crore of farm loans), fails to give new lease of life to farmers. It is unfortunate that the budget provides less than one percent of the budget for agriculture.
Social sectors
Social sectors like health, education, women and child development, SC/ST or even minorities, drinking water etc. all have continuously been neglected and this budget is also no exception with hardly 9.5 percent of budget being allocated for the same. In fact if we want to reap the demographic dividend, we need to increase expenditure on social sector.
External Sector
For the last so many years, our external balance is badly disturbed. Due to high current account deficit (CAD) in our balance of payment, our rupee is continuously stressed. Weak rupee increases industrial costs partly by way of costly imports and partly due to increase in interest cost of foreign loans raised, by our corporates. There was an urgent need to curb imports for strengthening rupee, in which this budget has failed miserably.
We do need Smart Cities, however more important is to improve the education and health services in cities and rural areas alike. It is imperative to raise the level of living of 30 percent of our population, living below poverty line by providing them the opportunity to earn more. Census data clearly reveals that in the era of globalisation, poor the deprived, dalits, aadivasis are all losing their traditional land and becoming landless labourers. There is a need to reverse this trend. For the same we need to change the present day model of development, the model which is based on FDI and big corporates, as this is a model of jobless growth and encouraging the deprivation further. It is unfortunate that the present budget is no different from the budgets of previous regime.

Dr.Banarsi Lal and Dr.Shahid Ahamad
Before we begin to enquire into the subject, it is pertinent to ask what exactly is understood by corruption. Can we define it? What are the causal factors for its spread? Can we eliminate this cancer from our society? What are remedial measures against this menace? These are the questions that need to be answered effectively to eradicate this menace.  There is no evil, which is pervasive today as corruption. Corruption is making its vitiating presence in our all walks of life. Many of us are unaware about its impact on our lives and its negative consequences in future. Corruption is easier to identify than to define. There is no need to elaborate corruption as we all are exposed to various types of corruption, its different methodologies directly or indirectly by way of either dealing with the corrupt people or by way of being corrupt. Corruption is behaviour which deviates us from the normal duties of public role because of private cliques, violates the rules due to certain private influence. This type of behaviour includes bribery, misappropriation and nepotism.  If we look back our history, corruption was prevalent in old days also and it has been described by Kautilya in Arthasastra during the Mauryan period.
The corrupt people in our country brazenly retard the economy of the country. Our country is rich in natural resources, rich honoured civilization, rich in man power resources but still our country remained poor and backward due to rampant corruption in Government and private services. We celebrate 15th August as our Independence Day. But our celebrations are for what and for whom? Does it signify Independence from corrupt and unfair system? Or from nagging persistent poverty and social injustice? Or from the political leaders who mislead the people with insincere and false promises? The fact is that the true independence of the country has been stolen by the corrupt people. These corrupt people of the society have made the honest people incompetent. We must come forward to weed out corruption from our society. Corruption presently in our country threatens administrative, political and economic system of the nation. This cancer has become the matter of grave concern for all of us. While public awareness about this problem has been increased by the different sources and persons like social activist Anna Hazare over the years but very little progress has been made to implement the remedial measures that can nab the severity of this menace. The Government efforts are also in piecemeal. Periodic scandals are observed every year.
Corruption is considered as the biggest problem in our country. Even after long time of independence, we experience the existence of severe form of corruption in our country. The Indian citizens now think that they cannot get the services done without bribe or references from the influential people. Corruption has now engulfed every walk of life and it enjoys its own social dignity. Now the people have the psyche that there is nothing wrong in giving or taking the bribe. There is general feeling of skepticism and cynicism against the Government by the people. Directly or indirectly, we all are responsible for the existence of corruption in our country. Every individual now have become self-centred because every individual thinks for his own concern and wants to fulfill his own interest through any means.
Now, we should think that from where and how we should start the anti-corruption efforts? We should try to understand the causal factors and incentives which start the corruption. We should dispel the myth that corruption exists in our culture. The Swiss bank account has become traditional culture in our country. Mostly we think that political leaders are responsible for corruption. Should we wait for elusive leaders and let the degeneration continue or take the responsibility to make vibrant modern India? The question still remains unanswered that can we get rid of corruption? The answer should be the big “YES”. Everything is possible in this world. It is well known proverb that where there is will there is a way. We should be optimist to eradicate the corruption from our country. The word ‘impossible’ itself says that ‘I am possible’. Our Jammu and Kashmir state is at number two position in case of corruption while Bihar is at number one position in India. In 2005 Transparency International conducted a study and observed that 62% of the Indians had firsthand experience of paying bribes or influence to get the services done in the public offices. Presently India is at 85th position in the corrupt nations in the world. Let us hope that India would be considered as corruption free country. This task is arduous but not possible to achieve. There is no need of anti-corruption army to eliminate this menace. The people of the country are the real power of the country. The vote of each individual is like drop and each drop is equally important. Many drops are needed to fill the ocean. We should select the honest and clean public image politicians. We should have anti-corruption package. There is need to reform our political system, restructuring the Government machinery and create the awareness on corruption among the people. We need to have social activists like Sh. Anna Hazare who could awake the people against this menace. There is need to inculcate good ethical values in our young generation and also need to give quality education to them to become the honest citizens of the country.  We should make strenuous efforts to make our country corruption free. We don’t want our country to be named the country of illiterates, unemployed and sick people. We don’t want our country to be said as the country of poor, incompetent and dishonest people. We want our motherland to be known for its honest, spiritually very strong and economically rich people.

Poonam I Kaushish
Secularism has always been the Hindutva Brigade’s bug bear and political untouchability the Congress catch word. But Modi’s ascendency to India’s Raj gaddi has turned the tables via the chants of Sarva Dharam Sambhava. Whereby Ram, Allah and Jesus might need to take a back seat if the BJP has his way and say: Of knitting India’s diverse social fabric into one nation. Akhand Bharat, Sampooran Samaj slogans are resounding in Delhi’s political corridors. What’s new?
An inkling that the Centre is likely to bring the contentious Uniform Civil Code (UCC) was given during Question Hour last week. In an innocuous reply, the Law Minister talked of the Government holding “wide stakeholder consultation” on the issue as per Article 44 of the Constitution. No big deal as the UCC is part of BJP’s election manifesto which argues that there cannot be gender equality till such time India adopts the Code which protects the rights of all women.
Undeniably, this is the first time the Modi Government has formally put forth its stand on the controversial issue in Parliament since coming to power. And the stars and the Supreme Court seem favourably inclined. Given, that it has thrice tried to resurrect the campaign for enactment of a common civil code, the last effort in 2003. Every time the result was zilch.
Article 44 simply states: The State shall endeavour to secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India”. Arguably, what is it about the Code that makes the political tribe other than the Hindutva Brigade see red? Why the Congress’s predictable pantomime of puerile lame excuses which add up to “appeasement of the minorities” (read Muslims) at all costs.
Raising a moot point: Why should a common civil code be viewed as encroaching on the right of religious freedom? Or being anti-minority? If Hindu personal law can be modernized and a traditional Christian custom struck down as unconstitutional, why should Muslim personal law be treated as being sacred to the secular cause?
Alas, over the years deliberate distortions of religion to suit narrow personal and political ends had vitiated the country, which shamelessly, has everything to do with vote-bank politics. Whereby, Ram and Rahim have been reduced to election cut-outs.
Remember 1985, when a five-member Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court while disposing off the famous Shah Bano case rued the fact that Article 44 has remained a “dead letter”, and allowed divorced Muslim women to seek legal remedy under their personal law, Criminal Procedure Code or the Muslim Women’s Act.
But, the then Congress Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi hurriedly first amended the law to curry favour with the Muslims, next performed Shilanyas for a temple at Ayodhya to woo the Hindus. In the end, he was divested by both. In 2003 again, the Court while striking down Section 118 of the Indian Succession Act 1925 which discriminated against Christians vis-à-vis restrictions on their right to bequeath property for religious or charitable use rued that “Parliament is still to step in” and frame the UCC.
In fact, the Court underscored Dr. Ambedkar’s advocacy of an optional common civil code. Whereby, according to him there was no connection between religious and personal law in a civilized society. Pertinently, during the Constituent Assembly debate on Article 35 (now 44) on November 3, 1948, he made two observations: One, the Muslim Personal Law is not immutable and uniform throughout India, contrary to what had been stated in amendments (moved by Muslim members).
Reminding all that up to 1935 the North West Frontier Province was not subject to the Shariat Law instead it followed the Hindu Law in succession and other matters. So much so that it was only in 1939 that the Central Legislature abrogated the application of Hindu Law to the Muslims of the North West Frontier Province and applied the Shariat Law to them. In North Malabar, the Marumakkathayam Law, a matriarchal form of law and not a patriarchal form of law is applicable.
Two, the Article merely proposes that the State shall endeavour to secure a civil code for its citizens, not that after the code is framed States shall enforce it upon all merely because they are citizens. It is possible that a future Parliament might make a provision in the initial stage of the Code being purely voluntary.
Not only Ambedkar, but Nehru, too, held the same view and was vigorous in his support for Article 44. Should this make him communal, even a Hindu fundamentalist?  Today’s Congressmen have conveniently forgotten that the Constitution was framed by their leaders to ensure the country’s secular fabric remained intact. Can the Party claim to be secular when it has no qualms of conscience in joining hands with the Indian Union Muslim League in Kerala to form a Government.
Regrettably, Article 44 has remained a dead letter. As things stand both Hindus and Muslims have lot sight of the essentials of their respective religions and are largely misled by bigots and fundamentalists. Worse, even the educated are speaking the language barely distinguishable from that of Hindu-Muslim fundamentalists. Their stock answer to every critique: Religion is in danger.
Should they not support Ambedkar’s middle path of a voluntary civil code. Are they not aware that many Islamic countries have codified and reformed the Muslim Personal Law to check its abuse? Polygamy has been banned in Syria, Tunisia, Morocco, Iran and even Pakistan.
But in today’s politico-social reality, Ambedkar’s sound advice is more than likely to be dismissed as an utopia hypothesis. For, successive Governments have failed to draw a distinction between politics, caste and religion. Forgetting, there is no mysticism in the State’s secular character. It is neither pro or anti God and is expected to treat all religions and people alike ensuring that no one is discriminated against on the ground of religion.
Where do we go from here? It all depends on whether the Government is willing to get rid of its excess baggage of isms and instead bank on genuine secularism. The Apex Court has shown the way once more. The Government can now fire the gun from its shoulder.
India and its secularism deserve a voluntary common civil code for gradual acceptance without further delay. Enlightened opinion among the Muslims will then have a choice’ be liberal and progressive or remain obscurantist and backward. Goa already has had a common civil code willingly accepted by all.
Ultimately, no one community should be allowed the veto or block a progressive legislation. Especially, if it is voluntary and does not seek to impose any view or way of life on any one arbitrarily. Time to implement Article 44. India needs genuine secularism. What gives? INFA