‘Development plus’ and saffron politics – By Badri Narayan (Aug 8, 2013, DNA India)

Development sounds good as election agenda – we wish it became a reality. Sad though it may be, it fails to organise the masses. Development does not ensure that they push the buttons in electronic voting machines (EVMs) during elections. This is the grim tale of Indian democracy. Perhaps that’s why in Bihar, Nitish Kumar has to align caste equation with development. In Gujarat, Narendra Modi, despite being the ‘face of development’, falls back on power and communalism’s propaganda and fear psychosis. In Madhya Pradesh, Shivraj Singh Chauhan has to mix development with the memory of Hindutva and the backward card.

Now, with the fear of the collapse of Narendra Modi’s ‘Vikas Purush’ image, a new image is being invented. He is being linked both with the Ram Janmabhoomi issue and the backward caste that he belongs to. In BJP-ruled states, development is not just development. It’s being mixed with communalism, identity hysteria, along with power, propaganda and fear springing from it. This strange alchemy is now packaged as ‘development plus’. These days Amit Shah, the face of the BJP in Uttar Pradesh, has shifted his base to Ayodhya, signalling fresh political ramifications. Plans are afoot to bring alive the issue of Ram Janmabhoomi once again and whip-up religious frenzy.

The meetings of Avadh Pranth (region), hitherto held at Lucknow, were taking place at Ayodhya, beginning last month. Ram Janmabhoomi and Ayodhya are being added to the ‘development champion’ image of Modi to convert it into the desired ‘development plus’ package. Furthermore, since Narendra Modi has been declared the BJP chief of the election committee, VHP leader, Ashok Singhal, has set up a camp at Ayodhya. He too is making every effort to rake up the Ram Janmabhoomi issue in the forthcoming elections.

A meeting of sants (seers) and sadhus, chaired by Singhal, was held on June 27. It was decided that during the Chaurasi Parikrama (84 circumambulations) of Ayodhya, beginning August 25, the issue of Ram Janmabhoomi shall be stirred up. The second plus being loaded on to the development issue, by Shah and BJP, is the backward card, with Modi at its epicentre. Modi’s backward caste and Sardar Patel as a backward caste icon is being played as a well-planned strategy by the BJP. World’s tallest statue of Sardar Patel, named as ‘Statue of Unity’, is being erected in Gujarat. In Gujarat villages, old farming implements, made of iron, are being collected from farmers as part of a strategy. BJP is trying to spread it, on the basis of the politics of Shilanayas, to the villages.

But, there is a major challenge. It needs to be seen how Modi is accepted by the masses in north India. Secondly, the myth of Ram is very different from that of Patel. Another ‘plus’ in BJP’s ‘development plus’ is the rule of Samajwadi Party in UP. During the rule of SP, fanatic Muslim elements have created skirmishes in small towns and kasbas. It was during the SP regime in the past that Ram Mandir and Babri Mosque issues gained credence. Misinformation of ‘Hindu victimisation’ is being created among the non-BJP Hindus. All attempts are being made to polarize the Hindus and thus convert it into a safe vote bank. It needs to be seen how BJP would use all its pluses, in UP and Bihar, to garner votes in its favour, in the 2014 elections.

http://www.dnaindia.com/analysis/1871470/column-development-plus-and-saffron-politics

SEE ALSO:

• Skullcap politics – By Shantanu Bhattacharji (Aug 9, 2013, Business Standard)
  http://www.business-standard.com/article/opinion/skullcap-politics-113080900602_1.html
• The Wait At The Machan – By Prarthna Gahilote (Aug 19, 2013, Outlook)
  http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?287299
• Puppy love of a Hindu nationalist – By Jyoti Mukul (Aug 12, 2013, Business Standard)
  http://www.business-standard.com/article/opinion/puppy-love-of-a-hindu-nationalist-113081200440_1.html

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Challenging a verdict – By Ajoy Ashirwad Mahaprashasta (Aug 23, 2013, Frontline)

The conviction of the alleged Indian Mujahideen (IM) operative Shahzad Ahmad in the 2008 Batla House encounter case for murdering Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma of the Special Cell of the Delhi Police and injuring two others has evoked mixed reactions. While the Delhi Police feel vindicated, several human rights activists, who had raised doubts about the police’s version of the encounter, plan to move a higher court against the decision. On July 30, the court of Additional Sessions Judge Rajender Kumar Shastri in Delhi sentenced Shahzad to life imprisonment and imposed a penalty of Rs.95,000 on him. The court declared that Rs.40,000 of the fine should be given to the family of the deceased police officer. It found Shahzad guilty of murder, attempt to murder, obstructing and assaulting public servants and grievously injuring police officers. Pointing out that it “was not a sudden confrontation”, the judge said: “The police had information, based on which a raiding party was formed well in advance. The accused had no licence to fire at police persons who came there to investigate a case. They were expected to assist the police, not attack them.”

Shahzad was being tried for murder and assault in the present case while in another court he was being tried for his alleged IM links. He is the lone accused in the case of the murder of Inspector Sharma. The Batla House encounter is one of the three most controversial encounters of the recent past, the others being the Ishrat Jahan and Sohrabuddin Sheikh killings. The Batla House encounter happened on September 19, 2008, six days after the Delhi serial blasts, which killed 30 people and left more than 100 injured. According to the police, the Special Cell received a tip-off about suspected IM operatives involved in the blasts hiding in Flat number 108 at L-18 in the Batla House area of South Delhi. An encounter ensued between the alleged terrorists and the team of the Special Cell of the Delhi Police headed by Sharma, which had gone there for a routine investigation. During the investigation, two suspected terrorists, Atif Ameen and Mohammad Sajjid, allegedly opened fire on the police but were killed. Sharma was killed in this shootout. The police claimed that they arrested two residents of the flat while two others, one of whom was Shahzad, managed to escape. Shahzad was arrested by the Uttar Pradesh Police in February 2010 in his hometown, Azamgarh, in eastern U.P.

Given the continually changing police versions of the event, several Congress leaders and residents of Batla House alleged that it could have been a fake encounter. In the course of the hue and cry over the encounter, the Supreme Court refused to institute a judicial probe and instead appointed the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to conduct an investigation. The NHRC report in 2009 declared the encounter genuine. However, activists rejected it as the NHRC team did not visit the spot or talk even once to the residents of Batla House or the arrested individuals. Instead, it relied completely on the documents released by the police. The Union government remained clueless about handling the case as it felt that the probe could affect the morale of the police force, which had lost one of its most decorated officers in the shootout. The judgment of the Additional Sessions Court also relied mostly on the prosecution case and human rights activists alleged that the defence case, despite being a very strong one, was ignored. The judgment relied mostly on circumstantial evidence and police witnesses as the investigating police team could not produce any solid evidence. Three pieces of evidence produced by the police in the court became crucial. One, the expired passport of Shahzad was allegedly found in the flat where the incident occurred, suggesting that Shahzad was indeed a resident of that flat. Two, police witnesses claimed that Shahzad had fired at Sharma and other policemen before escaping. Three, the police claimed that Atif Ameen, who was killed in the shootout, had been in touch over the phone with Shahzad earlier and had booked a railway ticket to Azamgarh for September 24, 2008, for him. The police claimed that Shahzad had planned his escape from the city after carrying out the serial blasts.

On July 31, the Jamia Teachers’ Solidarity Association (JTSA) released a report titled “Beyond reasonable doubt? The conviction of Shahzad Ahmad”. The report, which offers a critique of the judgment and a point-by-point rebuttal of the police version, points out that the murder weapon mentioned by the police was never recovered. It says at least the shells of bullets that Shahzad had allegedly fired could have been recovered, but these were missing in the recovery items. It notes that Flat No 108 was on the fourth floor in a heavily congested area and it was impossible for any person to escape from there when the police had surrounded the building from all sides. It further states that Shahzad was first referred as Pappu and that in different depositions before the court the police had identified Pappu with different names: Shahnawaj, Shahbaz and Shahzad subsequently. It says no independent witness of the Batla House encounter was produced by the police. All witnesses presented were police personnel, who told the court that they did not see Shahzad escaping. Questioning the veracity of the police version, JTSA president Manisha Sethi toldFrontline: “Firstly, if the police claim to have phone records of conversation between Shahzad and Atif, why were no voice records produced in the court? Secondly, no other belongings of Shahzad were recovered from the flat which could very well mean that Shahzad’s passport could have been planted there. How do the police claim that Shahzad was a resident of that flat? Thirdly, is it possible that a terrorist books a railway ticket to escape 11 days after the blasts?”

The report further notes that even the post-mortem reports of Atif Ameen and Mohammad Sajjid were not examined by the court. “The post-mortem reports could have been the most important pieces of evidence. It clearly shows bullet wounds on the back of Atif’s body. Sajjid’s body had firearm injuries only on the head. Physical wounds made by some blunt and sharp object were also found on Atif’s body,” Manisha Sethi said. The JTSA report also notes: “The entry points of each of these gunshot wounds – and the fact that all but one bullet is travelling in a downward direction – strongly suggests that he [Atif] was held down by force (which also explain the injuries on the back and leg region), while bullets were pumped down his forehead, back and head. In which genuine crossfire do people receive injuries only in the back and head region?” Describing the judgment as “riddled with tautology and obfuscations”, the report says: “All that is proved, beyond inconsistent police testimony, is that it is possible that the accused knew the deceased. And this possible association is the only ground for conviction. In sum, the judgment has merely accepted the case put forward by the prosecution. The prosecution merely gives the version provided by the police that are inconsistent. These inconsistencies are ignored. The judgment merely argues for the possibility of the police account and in a strange and twisted logic such possibility, accepted on the most flimsy grounds, provides the basis on which a conviction for the most heinous crimes is carried through.”

http://www.frontline.in/the-nation/challenging-a-verdict/article4982619.ece

SEE ALSO:

• Caught On Tape – Gujarat Minister And Top Officials Admit Influencing Ishrat Jahan Investigation – Rana Ayyub (Aug 3, 2013, Tehelka)
  http://www.tehelka.com/tehelka-expose-validated-cbi-says-ishrat-jahan-encounter-fake/

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Tension in Tonk – By T.K. Rajalakshmi (Aug 23, 2013, Frontline)

The Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government in Rajasthan is hopeful of retaining its position in the State in the Assembly elections which will be held later this year. According to opinion polls conducted recently, the incumbent government may yet have a slim chance of continuing in office given the slew of welfare measures it has initiated over the past one year. However, large sections of the minority community do not feel the same way about the Gehlot government as they did when it assumed power five years ago. A spate of incidents involving extreme police action and measures against the minorities during its tenure have created a sense of insecurity among these communities and infused cynicism into the electorate at large. Memories of the police firing in Gopalgarh in Bharatpur district in September 2011 (“Targeted Attack”, Frontline, October 21, 2011), which claimed 10 young lives, were fresh in their minds when another incident of police insensitivity put the government in the dock.

On July 11, the very first day of fasting in the month of Ramzan, a skirmish broke out between two communities over the high decibel levels of the music that was played in a marriage procession. Two groups of local youth clashed with each other, a motorcycle belonging to a member of the minority community was set on fire, and some musical equipment belonging to the other side was damaged. The police claimed that the incident had the potential to become a serious issue. “It is a hypersensitive district,” said a senior police officer. The next morning, Tonk District Collector Lal Chand Aswal called a peace committee meeting where, interestingly, local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders were also present. That evening, a huge police contingent, comprising personnel of the Special Task Force (STF) and the Rajasthan Armed Constabulary (RAC), was stationed outside the Chavani mosque, where around a thousand persons, including children and old men, had assembled for the evening prayers. Members of the Keer community, a peasant caste known traditionally to cultivate on riverbeds, assembled on the road opposite the mosque.

What happened next is unclear. But what it resulted in was very visible. As prayers continued inside, the police pushed their way through, tear-gassing and lathi-charging anyone who came in their way. Not even eight-year-olds or 85-years-olds were spared. In the mayhem, a tear gas shell ripped the eye of a young man, killing him instantly. It was claimed that the police entered the premises because stones were thrown from the ramparts and roof of the mosque and adjacent homes at the Keers who had assembled there. Nearly four dozen persons sustained injuries, including fractures and injuries to the head. “The action was totally disproportionate to the incident,” said a retired major in Tonk city. The District Magistrate dismissed the matter as a “freak incident” and a “coincidence”, stating that everything was under control. Superintendent of Police S. Parimala justified the action on the grounds that there was stone-throwing and that the situation could have gone out of control. She also claimed that the dead man was a history-sheeter and had no business being there offering prayers as he was from a different area. According to police sources, he had mobilised mischievous elements in order to create trouble.

Local people and leaders of the minority community who Frontline spoke to explained that it was not uncommon for members of their community to offer prayers at any mosque, especially if they happened to be passing by. “Even if he was a history-sheeter, where does it say that he should die like this?” asked Mohammad Hasan, a retired professor of geography at the University of Rajasthan, who visited the place. Members of the minority community claimed that there was provocation from the Keers who were armed. When stone-throwing began from both sides, some STF personnel got injured and that seems to have been the trigger for the police action. They said the theory that mischievous elements were present in the mosque as part of a pre-planned strategy was false. “It was not a communal clash, a Hindu-Mussalman fight. The administration is to blame. They had no right to beat us up like this,” said Haji Ahmed Sayeed, a muezzin who sustained injuries on his hand as he tried to protect himself from the blows. Members of the community alleged that they were beaten up brutally, taken to the police station and made to stay there in their undergarments.

The parliamentary constituency of Tonk-Sawai Madhopur is represented by Union Minister Namo Narain Meena, who people say is hardly bothered by such incidents. “We got him elected from a general seat against Colonel [K.S.] Bainsla of the BJP who led the Gujjar agitation for reservation, and this is what we get,” said a local leader. The majority of the Assembly segments here, including Tonk, are represented by Congress legislators. The Congress party’s election observer for the constituency is Brajendra Ola, son of another Central Minister, Sis Ram Ola, who, minority community members say, has rarely bothered to visit the place or inquire about the situation. Mujahid, a Congress worker, whose father, an 86-year-old, was beaten up, wonders what good staying in the party has served him. “We are unhappy that this should happen in a Congress-led regime. Whatever be the reason, the action was in excess,” he toldFrontline. Shamsuddin, a government employee with the Irrigation Department, was equally perplexed. “There were small children and old men praying. If the intention was to create trouble, then why would we bring them along? My 13-year-old grandson was also arrested,” he said. …

http://www.frontline.in/the-nation/tension-in-tonk/article4995445.ece

SEE ALSO:

• Masjid Is Far: Why banking on Hindu-Muslim polarisation is a folly – By Saba Naqvi (Aug 19, 2013, Outlook)
  http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?287327

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How Many States Do We Want? – By Ratnadip Choudhury (Aug 17, 2013, Tehelka)

Soon after the Congress Working Committee announced its decision to grant statehood to Telangana on 30 July, in the Northeast of the country, violent demonstrations and protests broke out on the streets. Various ethnic groups came out, demanding the formation of separate states on ethnic and historical lines. If Telangana could be carved out, they felt, why not our state? In Assam alone, five different statehood demands re-surfaced after years of uneasy calm. On 31 July, Diphu, the district headquarters of Karbi Anglong district, erupted in flames, when angry mobs took to the streets, vandalising and setting fire to more than 60 government offices, several vehicles and houses of senior Congress leaders. Railway tracks were uprooted at several places, cutting off the region from the rest of the country. Members of the Karbi Students’ Union and the NSUI feel that now is the time for the Centre to honour their 26-year-old demand for a separate Karbi autonomous state under Article 244A of the Constitution, the unique provision that allows for the formation of an autonomous state. At the time of this going to press – and despite a curfew, army flag marches, and shoot-at-sight orders – the district is still reeling under the aftermath of the violence.

In the neighbouring Dima Hasao district, the Dimaraji (Land of the Dimasas) demand for a separate state by the Dimasa tribals has gotten louder with the Hill State Democratic Party (HSDP) joining the Karbi chorus. Interestingly, the HSDP wants a separate tribal state comprising the twin districts of Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao. “If Telangana can be formed,” says HSDP General Secretary Kanjang Terang, “then there is no reason why there cannot be a separate state of the Karbis and the Dimasas. Our demand is much older than Telangana and we will go to Delhi for a clear word.” The scene is not much different in the plains of lower Assam, where the Bodoland agitation has been fanned by the announcement on Telangana. From the late 80’s, the Bodos, the largest tribal group in Assam, have been demanding a separate state of Bodoland, a demand which the Centre had managed to quell with the creation of a territorial council. But, on 1 August, Bodo groups called for a 48-hour bandh in the state, leading to a situation, where the Northeast was effectively cut off from the rest of India. “The Bodoland demand is a legitimate one that dates back to 1967,” says Promod Boro, president of the All Bodo Students’ Union (ABSU). “We have seen two councils, one of which was an autonomous council, but the step-motherly attitude of the state government has meant that nothing has been of help and now we want a separate state. If Telangana is justified, then the Centre has to explain to us why Bodoland cannot happen.”

In 1987, under the leadership of Upendra Nath Brahma, ABSU first gave the call “Divide Assam 50:50”. The Bodo Peoples’ Front that rules the Bodoland Territorial Council, and is an important ally of the Congress government in Assam, has threatened to withdraw support, unless the Centre is pressured to pass a resolution for a separate state of Bodoland. Simultaneously, the Koch-Rajbongshi community in lower Assam led the All Assam Koch Rajbongshi Students’ Union (AKRASU) in various agitations in support of the long-standing demand for a state of Kamtapur. The region has seen violence in the past in this quest for a separate state, a demand the Koch-Rajbongshis of Assam share with their counterpart in North Bengal. In the hills of North Bengal, the Bimal Gurung-led Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) has renewed its call for a state of Gorkhaland. An indefinite bandh has been called in the three hill subdivisions of Darjeeling, Kurseong and Kalimpong. GJM chief Gurung has resigned as the head of the Gorkha Territorial Council (GTA) in protest and party general secretary Roshan Giri along with top GJM leaders are camping in New Delhi to push for statehood. Gorkhaland supporters have torched a few government offices and bungalows in Darjeeling, but sentiments peaked after two supporters tried to immolate themselves, one of them, Mangal Singh Rajput from Kalimpong, even succumbing to his burns.

“If Telangana happens, Gorkhaland has to happen,” runs the by now familiar strain from Gurung. “We will not compromise, we will take the fight for Gorkhaland to the streets.” Forever trying to establish a one-party rule in the Darjeeling hills, Gurung has even reached out to his political rivals to take to the streets and jointly fight for Gorkhaland. “It is time we unite,” he says ominously. So fierce and widespread have these movements been that both the Centre and the state governments have had to urge the various groups to come to the negotiating table. Assam, which has already seen three divisions in the creation of Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland, could be the worst affected. West Bengal too has seen partition and would be loath to experience a similar period again. “Eastern India and the Northeast in particular has a history of separation and violence, but ethnic aspiration is the result of years of neglect by the people in power,” says Guwahati-based human rights activist Ranjan Baruah. “For the Centre, Telangana is more important because it has numbers, which the Northeast cannot offer.”

A total deadlock in North Bengal, a 3,000-hour bandh called by Karbi rebel groups, 36-hour bandh by the Koch -Rajbongshis, Bodo groups threatening to launch indefinite economic blockade and demands of other separate states – Garoland in Meghalaya, Frontier Nagaland and Greater Nagalim in Nagaland, Kukiland in Manipur and a separate Tripuri state in Tripura . Was New Delhi completely oblivious of the fallout the creation of Telangana would have, or is the east too far away from its political radar? Either way, it will now have to somehow douse these fires.

http://www.tehelka.com/how-many-states-do-we-want/

SEE ALSO:

• Division spurs growth? – By Asha Sarangi (Aug 23, 2013, Frontline)
  http://www.frontline.in/cover-story/division-spurs-growth/article4995101.ece
• State Of Turmoil – By Madhavi Tata (Aug 19, 2013, Outlook)
  http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?287312
• The Telangana Tangle Begins to Unravel – By Anant Maringanti (Aug 10, 2013, EPW)
  http://www.epw.in/web-exclusives/telangana-tangle-begins-unravel.html
• Divide and rule – By S. Nagesh Kumar (Aug 23, 2013, Frontline)
  http://www.frontline.in/cover-story/divide-and-rule/article4995120.ece

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Fighting Fire In Seemandhra – By Ashhar Khan and G Vishnu (Aug 17, 2013, Tehelka)

It was obvious to the Congress high command that granting statehood to Telangana was fraught with perils. As people vented their anger in Seemandhra (the residual part of Andhra Pradesh comprising coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema) by calling for bandhs and torching statues of Rajiv Gandhi and Indira Gandhi, nervous party leaders are hoping the frenzy will die down soon. The Congress is more worried about holding on to its seven MPs from Seemandhra who are threatening to abandon the party before the Food Security Bill is tabled in Parliament. Even as Congress MPs from Telangana were celebrating that the party leadership had acquiesced to their longstanding demand for a separate state, seven Lok Sabha MPs and one Rajya Sabha MP hailing from the Andhra region tendered their resignations. More than 25 MLAs also threatened to resign. However, Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy and Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) chief Botsa Satyanarayana pacified the MLAs by presenting a resolution to party general secretary Digvijaya Singh on 5 August. “We have requested the party high command to maintain status quo and avoid bifurcation,” says Satyanarayana. “If Telangana is indeed inevitable, then we want Hyderabad to be a Union Territory or the shared capital.”

When the Congress Working Committee announced its decision on Telangana on 30 July, jittery Union ministers hailing from Seemandhra made a beeline to their constituencies to get a first-hand assessment of the ground situation. They included Union Human Resource Development Minister MM Pallam Raju, a four-time MP from Kakinada. On 2 August, they regrouped in New Delhi and decided to convey the anti-Telanganamood prevalent in the region to the party high command. Despite burning the phone lines, all they could muster was an appointment with Digvijaya Singh. Armed with their resignations, the delegation of ministers, which also included JD Seelam, D Purandeswari, J Surya Prakash Reddy and Kruparani Killi, met Singh. The meeting lasted for two hours, where they tried to impress upon Singh that they would be committing political suicide if they failed to send a strong signal that they were against the creation of Telangana. The ministers also conveyed that apart from their own future, the party’s fortunes were also at stake in Andhra. Singh acknowledged that the party leadership was aware of their problems but was adamant that tendering resignations was no solution. Finally, it was decided that Singh will propose to party president Sonia Gandhi the setting up of a high-level committee to look into all the issues and remove imbalances.

This committee, headed by Defence Minister AK Antony, will interact with the leaders of Andhra and Rayalaseema before the new state of Telangana comes up. This move has pacified the ministers, at least for the time being. The Congress is also planning to cool the simmering anger by announcing special packages, which will include many welfare schemes and a favourable water-sharing agreement. Congress leaders believe that some resignations are inevitable. “While taking theTelangana decision, the party had taken into account the resignations that will pour in,” says a senior Congress leader, adding that the party leaders will have to work overtime to douse the fire in their constituencies. They believe that the anti-Telangana mood will subside with the passage of time. Congress insiders claim that the trouble witnessed in the Seemandhra region were in areas that predominantly are strongholds of either the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) led by former chief minister Chandrababu Naidu or Jaganmohan Reddy’s YSR Congress. The Congress has little hold in these areas. Dismissing rumours that some MLAs and MPs are planning to abandon ship and join Jagan’s party, a senior Congress leader from Andhra told Tehelka on the condition of anonymity that the deserters would not be more than three MLAs and two MPs, whereas leaders from other parties might join the Congress.

Five senior YSR Congress leaders from Telangana have already resigned. Konda Surekha, a leader from Warangal, her husband Konda Murali, Balakrishna Reddy, KK Mahendar Reddy, Raj Thakur and Puvvada Ajay Kumar tendered their resignation to party president Vijayamma on 31 July. Rumour has it that they will join either theCongress or the TDP. “The bifurcation of the state will improve the Congress’ chances in Andhra andRayalaseema regions,” says Congress MP Madhu Goud, who represents Nizamabad inTelangana. “Some of the MPs who are threatening to quit are the same ones who had earlier signed a letter backing Jagan Reddy as chief minister.” But YSR Congress leaders beg to differ. “The Congress did not consult any of the parties before deciding to bifurcate the state. It’s only in Telangana that some of our MLA aspirants are leaving. In coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema, members of both theTDP and Congress will be joining our party soon, as we have a better winnability factor,” says senior leader DA Somayajulu. In 2009, despite being an incumbent party, the Congress won 156 of 294 Assembly seats and 29 out of 42 seats in the Lok Sabha. In Telangana, it won 12 seats, whereas the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) managed only one. Much of the Congress’ worries began after the then chief minister late YS Rajasekhara Reddy’s son Jagan started his own party and attracted renegades from the Congress and the TDP. In the subsequent bypolls, Jagan’s party won 17 Assembly seats.

The Congress received a confidence boost from the recent sarpanch elections. Much to the party’s surprise, it topped the tally with 4,342 posts, followed by the TDP (4,275),YSR Congress (2,739) and the TRS (1,117). YSR Congress’ performance was lacklustre inSeemandhra. The prevalent thinking in the Congress is that the creation of Telangana will prove to be a calculated risk. The first target is to capture all 17 Lok Sabha seats in the new state, including Hyderabad, which is represented by Asaduddin Owaisi of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen. Even though the TRS is yet to keep its promise of merging with the Congress, onceTelangana becomes a reality, the signs remain positive. “We will cross the bridge when we come to it,” says Kavita Rao Kalvakuntla, the daughter of TRS supremo K Chandrasekhar Rao. “Our terms are simple. We are willing to share Hyderabad as the capital for 10 years, not any longer. Hyderabad will be the 10th district of Telangana, and arrangements will be made for the Andhra administration to function fromHyderabad.” Behind the theatrics, has the Congress actually managed to wriggle itself out of a mess? Whereas it is too premature to draw conclusions or map out the long-term political ramifications, the party does seem to be making all the right moves – pacifying wherever it’s necessary and readying to let go of bad apples.

http://www.tehelka.com/fighting-fire-in-seemandhra/

SEE ALSO:

• ‘People in Seemandhra feel they have been cheated’ – Botcha Satyanarayana tells Ravi Reddy (Aug 23, 2013, Frontline)
  http://www.frontline.in/cover-story/people-in-seemandhra-feel-they-have-been-cheated/article4991990.ece
• Playing politically mature: Telangana and its impact on Muslims – By Mohd. Ismail Khan (Aug 7, 2013, Twocircles.net)
  http://twocircles.net/2013aug07/playing_politically_mature_telangana_and_its_impact_muslims.html
• Whatever its status, Hyderabad has changed irreversibly – By Mahesh Vijapurkar (Aug 7, 2013, Rediff)
  http://www.rediff.com/news/column/whatever-its-status-hyderabad-has-changed-irreversibly/20130807.htm

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Tragic eye-opener – By T.K. Rajalakshmi (Aug 23, 2013, Frontline)

The death of 23 children after consuming a midday meal contaminated with an organophosphorus pesticide at a primary school in Mashrakh block of Saran district in Bihar on July 16 brought to the fore a range of issues regarding the midday meal programme in the country. But a few others such as the welfare of midday meal workers and the role of private sector initiatives in the midday meal scheme got scant attention. An embattled Bihar government sought to stave off criticism amid various conspiracy theories, but an inquiry report by the Additional Secretary of the Union Human Resource Development Ministry blamed the State government for “grave negligence”. The cooking was done in the open in the school, which was run from a community building. The oil used for cooking was procured from a shop owned by the husband of the headmistress. The government, stung by criticism, suspended the headmistress and directed teachers to henceforth taste the cooked food before serving them to children. These are at best superficial measures even as systemic ones like that of appointing regular coordinators to maintain accounts and supervise the system have been ignored. Corruption is a serious issue in the midday meal programme.

The midday meal programme in the country is said to be the world’s largest school feeding programme and the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government does not tire claiming credit for it. However, the incident in the Bihar school has exposed not only the cavalier attitude of the Central and some State governments as far as the monitoring of the scheme is concerned but also the free hand given to private operators which allows them to flout the guidelines of the scheme. Measures like tasting the food before serving it obfuscate the real problems that bog the scheme down—for instance, the manner in which midday meal workers are treated. “The only incentive for them, working at such pitiable rates, is the one free meal they get,” said A.R. Sindhu, secretary, the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU). In a memorandum to Jiten Prasada, Union Minister of State for Human Resource, the All India Coordination Committee of Mid Day Meal Workers (affiliated to the CITU) pointed out that a number of schools in the country did not have proper kitchens or storage space. Supply of cooking gas was erratic and where there was no gas connection, workers had to collect firewood, it said.

The workers, all from socially and economically backward communities, are expected to provide the best of service under the worst of conditions. They have no regular wage or social security. Employed on a part-time basis, they work for more than six to eight hours a day and are paid an honorarium of just Rs.1,000 a month, and that too for only 10 months a year. Sindhu said that the honorarium was not paid in full and given after six or seven months. The government, the delegation pointed out, turned a blind eye to the unanimous recommendation of the trade unions at the 45th Indian Labour Conference that those employed under the midday meal scheme be recognised as workers and given minimum wages and other social security benefits. Most often, workers who suffered injuries while cooking could not avail themselves of first aid or proper treatment. In the case of the school in Bihar, there was no decent public health facility where the children could be administered treatment. The delegation that met the Minister also felt that it was unfair to burden the teachers with preparing midday meals.

In a shocking move that discriminated against midday meal workers, the Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand governments issued a circular stating that only those women would be retained as workers whose children studied in the same school. “What if the worker has older children who have got married? Why isn’t a similar conditionality placed for the teacher?” a worker asked. There have been regular protests by midday meal workers against their arbitrary retrenchment. On July 29, the Udupi district unit of Akshara Dasoha Workers Association submitted a memorandum to the Karnataka Chief Minister demanding the regularisation of their work and an end to the privatisation of the midday meal scheme. The association said the move to privatise it would deprive at least one lakh women of their livelihood. Rather than outsource it to non-governmental organisations (NGOs), the government should monitor the scheme, it said. While the focus has been on the poorly run scheme in government schools, the situation in the privately managed, centralised kitchens run by corporates and large NGOs has not been any better. Many child rights organisations that castigated the government over the tragedy in Bihar failed even to mention that the midday meals provided by private agencies also needed to come under the scanner. The delegation that met Jiten Prasada told him that the job of preparing food by agencies such as The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), the Akshay Patra Foundation, the Naandi Foundation and corporates such as Vedanta needed to be stopped immediately. The Haryana government has given the ISKCON Foundation the contract to run the midday meal scheme in four districts through its centralised kitchen.

Jai Bhagwan, general secretary of the midday meal workers’ union in Haryana, told Frontline that there were innumerable cases where lizards and other insects had been found in the food cooked in the centralised kitchens run by private entities. “There should be government fair price shops that supply raw materials locally. In a centralised system, there is a lot of corruption. As it is made in bulk, a lot of raw materials can be siphoned off. Often the food is prepared early in the morning, packed in tiffin boxes, and by the time it reaches schools by noon, it becomes stale. There are 16 items listed by the State government that should be part of the midday meal diet. But private entities like ISKCON that run centralised kitchens in some districts in the State provide only six items. The number of people that are hired in the centralised kitchens are also small as compared to those who prepared the food locally,” he said, listing some of the concerns. The midday meal scheme, Sindhu said, should be included in the Food Security Act as it was an issue concerning the food security of children. It also needed to be extended to cover children studying up to class 12, she said. “Instead of taking measures to fill the gaps in the inputs and the implementation of the scheme, there is a very conscious move from many quarters, taking advantage of the fear and anger of the beneficiaries, to malign the scheme and privatise it,” the delegation told the Minister. …

http://www.frontline.in/social-issues/tragic-eyeopener/article4995308.ece

SEE ALSO:

• Mid-Day Meals: Looking Ahead – By Reetika Khera (Aug 10, 2013, EPW)
  http://www.epw.in/commentary/mid-day-meals-looking-ahead.html
• Schools for scandal – By Anil Sadgopal (Aug 23, 2013, Frontline)
  http://www.frontline.in/social-issues/schools-for-scandal/article4995324.ece
• Dignity, Not Mere Roti – By Editorial (Aug 10, 2013, EPW)
  http://www.epw.in/editorials/dignity-not-mere-roti.html

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