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Page 1: 26 THE TIMES OF IDEAS WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2015 A ...epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/NasData/PUBLICATIONS/THETIMESOFINDIA/DELHI… · mata Banerjee terming the raids as “un-precedented”

SacredspaceMany A Slip …

He who acts, harms; he who grabs, lets slip.

Therefore the sage does not act, and so

does not harm,Does not grab, and so

does not let slip.

Tao Te Ching 64

The unprecedented political storm over Delhi chief ministerArvind Kejriwal directly accusing the prime minister of unle-ashing the CBI on his office, as part of a motivated witch hunt,

shines the spotlight once again on the country’s ugly and partisan politics and its apex investigating agency. The central government, ofcourse, has specifically denied all charges. Finance minister ArunJaitley categorically told Parliament that the CBI raid “has nothingto do with Kejriwal and his tenure as Delhi chief minister” whileunion minister Ravi Shankar Prasad sought an apology, arguing thata “textbook case of corruption is being given political colour”.

CBI too has dismissed the claim of raids at the CM’s office as “comp-letely baseless”, saying that the raids, with requisite warrants, wereagainst Rajendra Kumar – principal secretary to the Delhi government– on allegations of favouring a particular firm in getting governmenttenders few years ago. But the political face-off has pretty much ended

hopes of a thaw in Parliament – with opposition parties forcing an adjourn-ment, West Bengal chief minister Ma-mata Banerjee terming the raids as “un-precedented” and Trinamool Congresscalling it an “undeclared emergency”.

Whichever side one chooses to believe in this case, the fact remainsthat CBI is not an independent agencybut a “part of government”, as then-CBIdirector Ranjit Sinha told the Supreme

Court in 2013. The Supreme Court, in turn, called CBI a “caged parrot”. The problem, therefore, is that even if CBI does the rightthing it is easy to lampoon with charges of bias. And politicalstorms will escalate, as is happening now.

The time has come to reform CBI and make it a truly autonomousbody, like the Comptroller and Auditor General or the Election Com-mission, accountable to Parliament and not to the government of theday. Reforming the CBI’s oversight mechanism, along with much-nee-ded wider police reforms, is a necessity for good governance anyway. Ifthe American Federal Bureau of Investigation were to raid an Ameri-can governor’s premises, for example, few would blame it on PresidentObama. This is because FBI’s budgets, activities and lead investiga-tions are also closely scrutinised by several entities, including Cong-ress – through several oversight committees in the Senate and House.India needs similar reforms. Else CBI is destined to remain cannonfodder for politics, whatever be the merits of the case it is pursuing.

Free The ParrotEnd controversies like current Kejriwal-BJPface-off by making CBI truly autonomous

Who says crime doesn’t pay? Certainly not the Indian penal system. According to a TOI report, the public money spent on prisoners in Indian jails is much more than the estimatedexpenditure that people living in rural areas, on an average,spend on food, clothing and medical needs.

Official data show that people in jails cost the exchequer, on an average, Rs 30,000 a year. In comparison, the annual consumption expenditure in rural India is only just over Rs 17,000.

This implies that if you are a law-abiding citizen of village India you’d be far worse off than if you got yourself sent to prison. Indeed, if you are luckyenough, or smart enough, to get yourself into a Delhi jail or one in Telanganayou’d be living in the equivalent of five-star comfort. Both Delhi and Telanganahave the highest per capita jail expenditure in the country, amounting to overRs 80,000 per prisoner per year.

If in order to escape grinding poverty you got yourself into prison by committing a minor crime – like theft, say – you’d lose one kind of freedom, the

freedom of not being confined and being able to go wherever you wanted. But in return for the lossof this freedom, you’d gain freedom from hunger,and the lack of adequate shelter and healthcare.

The penal system – of locking up people if they break the law – is supposed tobe a deterrent to crime. But the statistics on jail expenditure as compared withrural expenditure suggest that our penal system could act as the exact oppositeof a deterrent to criminal behaviour: It could actually encourage it by holdingout the lure of a better life behind prison walls than outside of them.

The penal system could end up being the most effective poverty-alleviationprogramme of the sarkar, much better than economic uplift measures like therural employment guarantee scheme which assures a livelihood for 100 days ayear. You’d be much better off in jail where all your needs were looked after forfree for 365 days a year.

There is much talk about the criminalisation of politics. Perhaps we should alsolook at what might be called the prisonalisation of poverty: How our political sy-stem rewards crime by making prison preferable to the fettered freedom of the poor.

[email protected]:/blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/jugglebandhi/

Rewarding crime

Jug Suraiya

Prisoners in Indian jails are better off than people in rural areas

There has been some exceptionally good eco-nomic news in the pastfew days. The awfullydelayed $7.6 billion TAPI gas pipeline agre-

ement was signed at last in the ancienttown of Mari, Turkmenistan last Satur-day. A day earlier, visiting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced avirtually interest free loan to India of $12billion for constructing the bullet trainline between Ahmedabad and Mumbai.

A week earlier, GE and Alstom brokeground with plans for two plants for themanufacture of railway locomotiveswith total investments of $5.7 billion inBihar. These three ultra-large greenfieldprojects represent a total commitment of$25.3 billion or Rs 1.69 lakh crore!

The three projects, all of which havethe potential to change the domestic economic landscape, have been hangingfire for long. I initiated the TAPI project,for example, 15 years ago on behalf of theAsian Development Bank. Hopefully,these three announcements representthe beginning of the much awaited de-bottlenecking of more than 60 largeprojects that the government inherited.While reviewing these projects, as he didwith Niti Aayog on 9 November, PrimeMinister Narendra Modi could benefitby enquiring about the reasons for suchinordinate delays in the past.

There is other good news as well. India’s economic growth at 7.2% came inhigher than China’s in the April-Junequarter. Index of industrial production(IIP) rose by 9.8% in October raising theaverage growth during April-October2015 to 4.8%, compared to 2.2% in 2014-15.

Commercial vehicles sales, a leadingeconomic indicator, have perked up since July 2015 and passenger car saleshave followed suit. Excise collections during April-October 2015 have shot upby 34% over last year and direct tax collections by 15%, providing assuranceon fiscal balance despite some disinfla-tionary concerns.

Inflationary pressures remain muted

with the WPI still in negative territory at (-)3.2% for April to November and CPIat 5.4% in October and 4.7% for past seven months, well within RBI’s target of 6% by March 2016. Agriculture surprised with a growth of 2.2% in thesecond quarter, despite two sub-normalmonsoons. The Indian economy underModi’s watch seems to be on the move,steadily but surely.

This is just as well because negativenews was beginning to overwhelm thegreen shoots of recovery. The continueddecline in tractor sales for example; oranaemic growth in offtake of non-foodcredit from commercial banks; or weakcorporate sales and net margins in thetwo quarters ending September werethreatening to pull investment sentimentdown and leave the economy in limbo.

The good news, which has been longin coming, may finally lift investors’ spirits and trigger the critically neededinvestment recovery. It will not happenovernight because industrial units arestrapped with 30% excess capacity as

reported by the RBI governor. But at least downside risks have weakened.Modi and Jaitley have to now balance fiscal prudence with the need to impartgreater impetus to growth by pushing uppublic capital expenditure. Fiscal deficittargets cannot become a dogma.

It is, therefore, disappointing that theopposition does not want to play ball byallowing the GST Bill to pass through theRajya Sabha. Its passage will surely givea strong fillip to both domestic and

foreign investors. It is a crying shamethat the Congress-led opposition is hell-bent on thwarting economic progressrather than promoting it. I wonder howour foreign partners must be looking atthis ongoing travesty of democracy.

Rahul Gandhi and company would be well warned that this tactic couldbackfire. Youth constitutes at least 50%of the population and will soon lose patience if employment opportunitiesdo not open up. Having the country descend into a morass of social and poli-tical strife will sear all political parties.

Fundamentalists of all hues, who eagerly wait for such opportunities to attract youth and convert them into cannon fodder for their cause, will thrive– with disastrous consequences for thecountry. There is still time for the opposi-tion to rise above petty and terriblyshort-term partisan interest.

However, to some extent the rulingBJP is also responsible for the currentimpasse. Its attempts at forming workingcoalitions with the opposition are sulliedby its unstoppable boors who insist on ba-iting the opposition on one count or anot-her. First, it was the beef ban; then camethe National Herald case and now CBI raids on the office of the principal secre-tary to chief minister Arvind Kejriwal.

To claim, as some senior ministers ha-ve done, that all these incidents happenautonomously is to presume gullibility.If it is indeed true that both governmentagencies and parivar affiliates are working at their own sweet will then theModi administration, which started with a fearsome reputation of close mo-nitoring and hands-on supervision, mustget its act together before it is too late.

One would wish that in India, as inItaly of yesteryear, economic activitycan be completely divorced from political shenanigans. That would allowthe positive news that is now emergingto gather the necessary momentum. Unfortunately, India will never be Italy.Therefore, Mr Modi, India’s politicaleconomy will need to be nurtured andhandled holistically.

The writer is Senior Fellow at the Centrefor Policy Research

Nurture The Good NewsThe economy looks up at long last, don’t let politics become the spoiler

Rajiv Kumar

It is a crying shame that theCongress-led opposition ishell-bent on thwartingeconomic progress ratherthan promoting it. RahulGandhi and company wouldbe well warned that thistactic could backfire

Thehorrifying incident in Abohar, Punjab, where two men wereattacked and their limbs chopped off at the farmhouse of a Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader – leading to death of one of

the victims – highlights the deteriorating law and order situation inthat state. Shiv Lal Doda – the owner of the farmhouse where the attacktook place – was appointed SAD’s constituency in-charge after he un-successfully contested the 2012 polls as an independent. Although anFIR filed in the case names 16 people, including Doda and his nephewAmit, so far only one person has been arrested by Punjab Police.

This has led to allegations of the administration shielding Dodadue to his political connections. This isn’t thefirst time that Punjab Police has been accusedof behaving like an arm of the ruling Akalis. Inanother recent incident in Muktsar district,where a 14-year-old schoolgirl was crushed todeath by a speeding bus reportedly belongingto another Akali leader, the police draggedaway the girl’s body and cracked down on

protesters. Add to this the state’s chronic drugs problem and Punjabis fast resembling Bihar’s erstwhile jungle raj.

The Akalis can’t escape blame for this state of affairs. There’s widespread perception that the Badals’ business interests have seenthem subvert due process and indulge in monopolistic practices.This in turn has led to cronyism, misgovernance and scams. As it is,Punjab being a border state with Pakistan has special security challenges. If the police in the state fails to carry out its duty in a professional manner due to political interference, it can lead to disastrous consequences – the recent Sarbat Khalsa by radical Sikhgroups is a case in point. For the Akalis, not acting swiftly in casessuch as Abohar reinforces growing anti-incumbent sentiment ahead of the 2017 assembly polls.

Punjab Simmering Deteriorating law and order situation adds

to anti-incumbency against Akalis

THE TIMES OF INDIA, NEW DELHIWEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 16, 201526 THE TIMES OF IDEAS

Ruskin Bond is one of India’s most lo-ved writers. Bond, who gave the PenguinAnnual Lecture 2015, spoke with SrijanaMitra Das about writing for children to-day, restless small towns, his dream garden–and why he hasn’t returned his awards:

■ You’re an iconic writer. Yet,you haven’t been heard on the in-tolerance and ‘award wapsi’ de-bate – is that a deliberate choice?

Not really. Perhaps living whe-re i do, i’m out of the general milieu ofpolitics. Nobody’s actually asked me formy opinion.■ What is your opinion?

Well, we’re living in an age of world-wide intolerance. One form of intoleran-ce breeds another. You get a terrorist at-tack somewhere. Immediately, in Ameri-ca, Donald Trump says, no Muslims.

As far as our country goes, therehave always been times and incidentsof intolerance – but in recent years, themedia’s become so powerful that thingswhich earlier got hushed up or dieddown, those things are now in your drawing room, in front of you.

So, everyone is aware of what’s happening.

Of course, returning awards isothers’ business. I can’t judge them.■ But you didn’t return any?

No. It didn’t occur to me. I’m ratherfond of my awards. I’d miss them.

They didn’t come easily to me. I gotthe Sahitya Akademi Award in 93-94. I

was broke then – it helped me. Giving the award back would be

ingratitude on my part.Of course, it’s personal.

■ You’ve written for generations of children – today, are they still intrigued by ghosts, tigers, plants?

Children haven’t changed – theworld around them has. Their ba-sic natures haven’t changed. Theylike ice-creams. They like to havefun, play games if they get space.

There’s more pressure on children to-day. When i was a boy, nobodysaid get 99% – parents we-re happy if you got 60%.You could enjoy life.

Children still enjoyenchantment though –they only grow up faster because they’reexposed to a more sophisticatedworld.

■ Whatabout

the small towns you wrote of ?They’ve become small cities! Materialis-

tic life has taken over. People in small townswant the facilities, the malls, big city peoplehave. There’s restlessness.

The world of Shamli is gone. But perhaps you could only appreciate smalltown life if you’ve lost it.■ What do you feel about it?

I accept it philosophically. Change hasto come. It’s not always what you’d like.It’s what other people like.■ What would you like?

What i’ve never had – a garden. I’ve lived in small rooms, flats,

growing plants in pots on window sills. I’dhave liked to have had a full-fledged gar-den with all kinds of flowers and plants.

I’ve never had enough money to buy a bigenough garden space. I remember my grand-

mother’s garden. But that’s long gone.Maybe there’s still time thoughfor me to have a garden.

■ Are you worried about how we’re

treating nature?We do intrude

but the mountainsare bigger than us.

You have to go a litt-le further to find the

solitude you want.It’s there – but

you have to go to thenext mountain.

And there alwaysis one.

‘India’s always had intolerance – iwouldn’t return hard-earned awards’

Q&A

There are so many Holy Scripturesaccessible to people today towards which they hold faith

and pay obeisance, nonetheless theyremain curbed to this mortal form anddistanced from the truth. They performall the arduous rites and rituals, recitereligious scriptures, visit places ofpilgrimage, sit in penance, indulge inholy bathing and still find they are atodds. Because instead of unifying withthe eternal Being, prejudice is holdingthem back, and the one thing which willset everything right is not obtained, thatis, God-realisation. So, one must relatewith this Supreme energy.

This is how dwelling in this worldbecomes a festivity throughout thetenure. Like when a goal is achieved ora destination is reached, like when wewin a competition in sports or excel inour career or do well in our studies andthe success and achievements call forthe word “congratulations”. To live a

life enlightened and having knowledgeof your Supreme Being is a humblinghonour that gives a reason to rejoice.

Sages suggest to concentrate onacquiring divine knowledge to ensurefostering celestial stability. The soonerone achieves this knowledge the betterit is as life would then be spent in peaceand tranquillity. Like when some workis pending, the mind feelsburdened till it’s done ... it’slike a relief derived afterpaying back a debt. An errandscheduled for tomorrow, mustbe done today and the onescheduled for today, must bedone right away. Without ashred of doubt we don’t knowwhen we breathe our last andwhen the curtains to this playwould be drawn.

So the prudent advise to getacquainted with the Supreme Beingpromptly, ensuring the remainingduration, more or less bestowed by Lordis spent pleasured and enlightened ... a

of God remembrance dawns upon us,the Almighty’s name is in every breath.Not only mind or heartbeat but everyiota in the body realises the existence ofthe Omnipresent each passing moment.Like a person in love remembers hisbeloved no matter what he’s doing, hedoesn’t need a reminder; he gets recur-ring thoughts every hour of the day.Similarly the ones imbued in God’s loveare the ones who could perhaps keeptheir mind connected to God at all times.

The journey is itinerant, and reaching the destination is accomplish-ment. Without this spiritual disposi-tion, we are disjointed individuals and not complete beings. Hence, gettingenlightened and expelling darkness,living with love, togetherness, compassion and brotherhood makes the journey of life a triumphant and an appreciated one, embellished withthe beauty that stays long after one’sdeparture, too.

Follow Nirankari Baba at speakingtree-.in and post your comments there.

celebrated understanding. It’s excruciatingly apparent that

confinement stifles liberation. Nevertheless, there are so many factions persisting to be free in theorybut enslaved in so many ways. Divineawareness imparted by saints imploresmankind to optimise human ability.

A life of service is keeping one of theprominent facets of devotionelucidated. The way of life isthen synonymous to a tree or ariver which is ever engrossedin physical and material servi-ce without any motive or desi-re. Selfless service without coercion, donewith great delight is how body,mind and wealth are purified.When someone loses track anddrifts miles away, it gets difficult to return. The compa-

ny of saints aid to step out of shadowswhen worldly influences cloud themind.

Subsequently, when the magnitude

Living Above And Beyond What Is MortalNirankari Baba Hardev Singh

thespeaking

tree

Secularism, political reforms, court judgments

or TV discussions, very few willing to discuss merits. Only ‘if your guy did it, it’s wrong’

Kejriwal screaming vendetta merely

because his ‘trusted man’ is raided by CBI withoutinforming is absurd.

Should an accusedbe warned of

a raid?

Be crazy, but behave like a

normal person. You will enjoy and nobody will notice

– Prashant Bhushan

– Paulo Coelho

– Baijayant ‘Jay’ Panda

secondopinion

HERMANN HESSE

Some of us think holding on makes us strong; but sometimes it is letting go

A thought for today

dilbert

theysaidit

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