Download - Phir wahi dil laya hoon - haryanasamvad.gov.inharyanasamvad.gov.in/store/document/haryana_review_NOVEMBER-2009.pdfPhir wahi dil laya hoon. PATROn-In-CHIEF ... project for developing

A peep intoHaryana’shoary past

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November 2009, Vol 23 Issue 10, Rs 15

‘Commitment todevelopment andsocial justice’

Phir wahi dil laya hoon

PATROn-In-CHIEFBhupinder Singh Hooda

EDITOR-In-CHIEFDr K K Khandelwal

CHIEF EDITORShiv Raman Gaur

COnSULTInG EDITORGobind Thukral

MAnAGInG EDITORM S Yadav

DEPUTY EDITORRajiv Kapur

nEWS BUREAU Amanbir Kaur BrarAparna PawarNishant PrabhakarRuchi Sharma

LAYOUT Sunil Kumar

ILLUSTRATORGurpreet Singh

PHOTO SUPPORTRandeep SinghTek Chand AroraGopal Singh Karam Singh Gauri ShankarNeeraj ChopraJasmer Singh

DIGITAL & IT SUPPORTDharmender Singh

VOL. 23 ISSUE 10, NOVEMBER 2009

Edited and Published for Haryana Government by

K K Khandelwal, IAS, Commissioner & Secretary and

Director, Information & Public Relations Department

and issued from SAMVAD, SCO No 137, Sector 17,

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Phone 0172-5055971, 5055977).

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E D I T O R I A L

HARYANA REVIEW, NOVEMBER 2009 1

Second innings for Mr Hooda

THE elections to the 12th Haryana Assembly wereindeed a serious business. These motivated votersacross the state. So, 72.71 per cent of the 1.31 crore

voters participated with zeal to elect 90 members andtake Haryana on the road to development for the next fiveyears. The results were a surprise for all political partiesstruggling hard to draw the attention of voters and thepublic.

These presented a contrast to the results of theparliamentary elections held in May 2009. Mostcalculations went haywire. The Congress which hadbagged nine of the 10 Lok Sabha seats with 41.4 per centvotes, could manage only 40 Assembly seats with areduced vote share of 35.07 per cent. The INLD that hadjust nine seats in the previous Assembly, managed 31seats with 25.62 per cent votes. Interestingly, with 26.8 percent votes in 2005, it could win only nine seats. Quirks ofelectoral system indeed! It had drawn a blank in the LokSabha polls. The HJC won six seats. In the previousAssembly, it had no representation and had bagged aparliamentary seat. The BSP could manage only one seat.The BJP claimed four seats, improving upon its earliertally of two. Seven Independents triumphed despiteheavy odds.

The Congress under the leadership of BhupinderSingh Hooda with the largest number of 40 MLAs andsupport of seven Independents and lone BSP memberwas the legitimate claimant to form the government. TheGovernor did not waste time and Hooda was sworn in asthe 21st Chief Minister. He has proved his majority onthe floor of the House. It is a good omen for Haryana. Itwill provide the much needed political stability and, inturn, keep the wheels of development moving.

Haryana hopes to move fast on the road to developmentand social justice. In this issue, we recount the elections,examine the results and provide an insight into howthings would work. We offer a feast of promises, policyprogrammes and expectations from the government,particularly from the Chief Minister, who has begun hissecond consecutive term, a rare achievement for a politicalleader in Haryana’s quicksands of politics. g

INDEX HARYANA REVIEW, NOVEMBER 20092

COVER STORY

Democracy: Upswing and the

reality bites 4Governor welcomes new House 6Hooda back in command with

his new brigade 8Ruling party gets a shot in the arm 12A man of peace and progress 13Congress back in saddle 14'We lost some battles but won

the war' (Interview with CM) 16In the service of people 18New Council of Ministers 24The victors and the vanquished

at the hustings 26A smooth sailing 28Winner at the end 30Sounding board 3212th Haryana Assembly 34At the helm of bureaucracy 39

Bhai achha ho gaya,sab ne mil ke nayi sarkarbana di.

[29]

[14]

Readers may send their comments [email protected] or to SCO 23, First Floor,

Sector 7-C, Madhya Marg, Chandigarh - 160 019

INDEXHARYANA REVIEW, NOVEMBER 2009 3

PHOTO FEATURE

Hues of democracy 40

ART AnD CULTURE

What life means to art 42

SPORTS

Cornering glory 44

FOCUS

Water is precious 46

HISTORY

A peep into Haryana’s hoary past 48

FEATURE

A hamlet that minted money 50Borlaug fought world hunger for 60 years 51

SnAPSHOTS

Month in review 52

GUEST ARTICLE

Valour unlimited 54

BOOK REVIEW

Turning fables into sound practical advice 56

[8]

[54]

[44]

COVER STORY HARYANA REVIEW, NOVEMBER 20094

Gobind Thukral

THE elections to the 12th HaryanaAssembly threw up a fracturedverdict, much to the surprise of

all political players and poll pundits.The Congress was expecting an easywin for legitimate reasons. It hadperformed particularly well in the Mayparliamentary polls; capturing nineout of the 10 seats. And thegovernment, enjoying a comfortablemajority, had done a good job on most fronts.

It could rightly boast of bettergovernance and good speed on thedevelopment front. It is number twostate, next only to Goa, in per capitaincome. In industrial and agriculturalproduction, the Congress rulewitnessed exceptional growth. If ChiefMinister Bhupinder Singh Hooda andhis ministerial colleagues claimedHaryana to be in top league, there wasa lot of truth in that. The statewitnessed quality change. It was nohollow claim.

The Congress may have lost somebattles but has won the war, as theChief Minister observed at his firstinteraction with the media afterassuming office. His logic was that thevote percentage of the INLD had gonedown by nearly one per cent from 26.8in 2005, but it had managed to winmore seats. The elections have oftenthrown up such unusual results. Hesaid this might have been on accountof certain local reasons or thecollective shortcomings of theCongress. The situation is expected tobe analysed and corrective measuresinitiated forthwith. The governmentpromises to take along all sections ofsociety. In fact, there is no time for theChief Minister or the Congress to reston their laurels.

Another credible argumentadvanced by the Chief Minister aboutnot so good a showing by the Congresswas, “Perhaps the collective leadership

of the state unit could not properlyassist the high command in ticketdistribution and some leaders did notsupport the Congress.” He insisted thatthe media might call it “internalsabotage” but he would say that theseleaders did not support the party. Hesaid there is a mature way ofscrutinising this setback and takingmeasures which the present leaderswere capable of. He promised toanalyse everything and try his best toremove the glitches.

VITAL STEPS

One measure of the serious attempt toaccelerate growth and build

infrastructure was Hooda obtainingthe green signal for a nuclear plantwithin a day of assuming office. TheNuclear Power Corporation of Indiahas, in principle, approved theproposed site for a nuclear plant inFatehabad district. The Chief Ministerwas quick to take up other issues andwrote to the Prime Minister and theUnion Agriculture Minister for abonus of Rs 100 per quintal of paddy. Itwas partly accepted.

On Haryana Day, Hooda launched aproject for developing roads andbuildings, involving Rs 1,600 crore asimmediate expenditure. The amendedand updated code of the Public Works

DEMOCRACY: Upswingand the reality bites

COVER STORY 5HARYANA REVIEW, NOVEMBER 2009

Department was implemented thesame day. It will be applicable to allengineering departments of the stategovernment. It will bring aboutefficiency and make working of thesedepartments transparent besidesintroducing better work ethics.Urgency is clearly written on the faceof the new government.

If the Congress feels not properlyrewarded by over 1.31 crore voters,

there are reasons for that. The ChiefMinister and other leaders aretouching the broad contours andpromising to provide details after somehard investigations. Nonetheless, with40 seats out of 90, the Congress couldstill be happy as with the help of sevenIndependents and the lone BahujanSamaj Party legislator, it gained therequisite strength. It has formed thegovernment and hopes to run itsmoothly. Hooda is firmly in the saddleand promises to take Haryana furtheron the road to development and socialjustice.

The electorate, in its wisdom,decided to bring back a badly mauled

Indian National Lok Dal back to life.Its strength has increased from a merenine to 31 with its leader Om PrakashChautala winning both seats. Unlike inthe previous tenure, Haryana will havea strong opposition, keeping thegovernment on its toes.

The Congress has emergedvictorious despite a slight decrease inits vote share. It had polled 42.46 percent during the 2005 polls. Its sharenow is 35.07 per cent. The share of theINLD during the previous Assemblyelections was 26.8 per cent when it hadwon nine seats. It now polled 25.67 percent votes and claimed 31 seats. In theparliamentary polls which it contestedas a partner of the BJP, the party got15.68 per cent votes. Its popularity hasneither increased nor decreased exceptmarginally, but it chose theconstituencies in a manner that thedivision among different partieshelped it win more seats.

The BSP which had garnered15.73 per cent votes in theparliamentary polls and promised tobe a serious player in the politics ofHaryana, could get only 6.73 per centvotes and a single seat. Similarly, theBJP that had polled 12.09 per cent votesin the parliamentary polls where itcontested as a partner of the INLD, got9.04 per cent votes and four seats. Theshare of the HJC was reduced from9.89 per cent in the parliamentary pollsto 7.4 per cent and it bagged six seats.

CHEQUERED PAST

Since its creation in November 1966from the composite Punjab, Haryanahas had limited periods of politicalstability. The first two governmentslasted barely a few months each. LateBhagwat Dayal Sharma, the first chiefminister, saw his term end within fivemonths on March 23, 1967. RaoBirender Singh who formed the firstregional party, Haryana Vishal Party,lasted till November 20, 1967. Thecoming of the Congress and theappointment of Bansi Lal as the chiefminister in May 1968 witnessedpolitical stability in the state for thefirst time besides fast-paceddevelopment. He was in office tillDecember 1975.

For the next two years, the Congresscontinued its rule till April 1977. Theperiod after the Emergency saw therise of the Janata Party under theleadership of Devi Lal. But he lastedbarely two years -- June 21, 1977 to

June 28, 1979. The Congress under theleadership of Bhajan Lal capturedpower in June 1979 and he lasted forless than two terms till June 1986 andwas replaced by Bansi Lal. Devi Lalthen returned to power under the aegisof the Janata Party and lasted tillDecember 1989. After the birth of theLok Dal, Om Prakash Chautala led thegovernment for a few months(December 1989 to May 1990). In thenext few months, Banarsi Das Guptawas the chief minister, and thenChautala, Hukam Singh and againChautala; all lasting between July 1990and April 1991. This instabilitybrought the Congress back into powerin June 1991 and for the next five years,Bhajan Lal was the chief minister tilla new-born Haryana Vikas Party andBJP under the leadership of Bansi Lalcaptured power, lasting till July 1999.Next was the term of Chautala of theIndian National Lok Dal for two terms,July 1999 to March 2000 and March2000 to March 2005. The Congressreturned to power with a massivemandate in March 2005 and BhupinderSingh Hooda took the command of thestate. The October 2009 elections haveprovided Hooda a second term. It israre in the wobbly chronicles ofpolitics. There were four secureperiods during the leadership of fourchief ministers.

CONDUCT OF ELECTIONS

A remarkable aspect of the Assemblyelections was the enthusiasticparticipation of the public. There wasa record turnout of 72.71 per cent inthe keenly-contested elections.Politicians belonging to national andregional parties leading a high-pitchedcampaign added to the fervour. TheElection Commission and the stateChief Electoral Officer, through a well-chosen method, made a free and fairelections, a reality. It was a hugeexercise executed diligently and in anorderly manner that saw thousandsqueued up early in the morning onOctober 13 to exercise their franchise.The polling staff and security forcessupervised the huge exercise in awell-planned manner. Except for strayincidents, the entire exercise wascompleted in a fair manner and theresults were out on October 22. Thiswas admired by one and all.

It is a second good beginning for Mr Hooda. g


"MR Speaker and Hon’bleMembers, it is my proudprivilege to welcome you to

the first session of the newly-constituted Haryana LegislativeAssembly. I extend good wishes to youall. Kindly accept my heartiestcongratulations on your success in theelections and on becoming members ofthis august house. Credit goes to thepeople of Haryana for theiroverwhelming participation in thedemocratic process in a peacefulmanner. I am confident that you willsuccessfully shoulder theresponsibilities entrusted to you by thepeople and work for the fulfilment oftheir hopes and aspirations.

My government sought a freshmandate on the strength of itsperformance. By now it is well knownthat the state experiencedunprecedented development on allfronts. To mention just one indicator ofthe progress made by the state, its plansize increased from Rs 2,108 crore in2004-05 to Rs 10,942 crore in 2009-10,which represents an increase of419 per cent.

The slowdown has affected the paceof development. The pay revision hasput an additional strain on the state’sresources. However, despite theseconstraints, my government iscommited to enhancing the pace ofdevelopment. It will be achieved byraising additional resources and betterfiscal management.

My government will focus oncreating employment opportunities,socio-economic justice and welfare ofweaker sections. The government is alsocommitted to providing transparent andpeople-friendly governance.

Agriculture and farming communitywill be the primary focus of mygovernment. Accordingly, efforts will bemade to increase the growth rate in thissector. The government will ensuretimely availability of quality inputs andagricultural implements. Specialattention will be paid to the post-harvestmanagement of crops and marketing.

During the kharif season, Haryanawas severely affected because ofdeficient rainfall. The government

addressed this unforeseen challenge inan effective manner. It madeextraordinary efforts to maintainadequate power and water supply,especially for paddy transplantation. Asa result, the state is expected to achievea bumper kharif production. The statecooperative banks' loan interest waiverscheme for landless labourers, ruralartisans and petty shopkeepers will belaunched. The scheme will provide forwaiver of principal amount of up toRs 10,000 and interest thereon.

My government is committed tosecuring Haryana’s due share of watersfrom the Ravi and Beas rivers. All-outefforts will be made to expedite thecompletion of the Satluj Yamuna Link

Governorwelcomes new House

As the new House metafter the elections,the Governor,Mr Jagannath Pahadia,expressed the confidencethat the newly-electedmembers wouldsuccessfully shoulder theresponsibilities entrustedto them and meet theaspirations of thepeople. Extracts from theGovernor's Address tothe House:


Canal. Renewed efforts will be made toremove the legal hurdles to commissionthe Hansi Butana Link Canal at theearliest.

Road infrastructure will remain toppriority of my government. Nearly 6,000kilometres of road-length, mostly rural,is proposed to be widened andstrengthened. More than 1,000kilometres of new road links will beadded to the rural road network. Theongoing efforts in road infrastructureand public buildings will be furtherconsolidated by doubling the presentlevel of investment.

Power is one of the most criticalinputs for the development of the state.My government intends to supply

adequate quality power to allconsumers. Three power stations -- oneat Khedar in Hisar and two at Jharli inJhajjar, with a total capacity of 4,020MW -- are being set up. In addition,arrangements for procurement of 2,113MW of power from independentproducers have been finalised.

I am happy to inform the augustHouse that the Centre has, in principle,approved a nuclear power plant to be setup in Fatehabad district.

My government is committed toproviding affordable housing to themiddle and lower income groups. Apolicy has been framed under which 15per cent of the dwelling units will beprovided to people belonging to theeconomically weaker sections at the costnot exceeding Rs 4 lakh per unit. Theother 85 per cent units will be sold at thecost not exceeding Rs 16 lakh each.

Hon’ble Members, education isanother priority of my government.Besides expanding educationalfacilities, the focus will be on improvingthe quality of education at all levels.Computer education will be introducedin all schools. For promoting scienceeducation, a Science Education Missionwill be set up. To streamline andexpedite the recruitment process ofteachers at all levels, my governmentproposes to set up an independentTeachers' Recruitment Board.

Hon’ble Members, healthcare is oneof the key concerns of the government.A number of innovative measures havebeen taken to strengthen health servicesthrough improved provisioning ofdoctors, drugs, diagnostics andinfrastructure. The state has embarkedupon an ambitious programme ofcreating additional healthinfrastructure at the cost of Rs 1,500crore. Some of the unique initiativesinclude free treatment of poor patients,free medicines to all OPD patients andemergency cases, hassle-free cost-effective surgery package, a rollingsystem to recruit doctors and inductionof specialists.

The Mahatma Gandhi Gramin BastiYojana is the flagship programme of mygovernment. Under this, residentialplots of 100 sq yards each are beingallotted to SCs, BCs and BPL families.As many as 6.43 lakh families willbenefit from the scheme. Mygovernment is committed to providingadequate piped drinking water in allvillages and towns. It is proposed toaugment the level of drinking water

supply to 55 litres per capita per day inrural areas. Various schemes are beingimplemented for providing sustainablesafe drinking water facilities in allareas, including Mewat.

Haryana has emerged as a preferreddestination for industry. Thegovernment will promote industrialgrowth in non-NCR region bydeveloping industrial infrastructure forbalanced regional development. Thegovernment will frame a suitablescheme of incentives. Systemic reformswill be made with regard to obtainingapproval from the departmentsconcerned.

My government proposes to takesteps to further improve the HaryanaRoadways. The bus fleet will beincreased from the present 3,200 to 4,000by the end of the current fiscal. Womenempowerment is a major area ofconcern for my government. Skilldevelopment and training centres willbe started to promote self-employmentamong women. Full fee concession willbe given to women studying ingovernment polytechnics and ITIs.

My government will strive to evolvean effective multi-dimensional strategyto promote socio-economic developmentof the Scheduled Castes and BackwardClasses. A new scheme, Anusuchit JatiUch Shiksha Protsahan Yojana, hasbeen initiated to provide scholarships to6,000 girls. Law and order will receivespecial attention of my government.The police force in the state will bestrengthened by recruiting morepersonnel, improving training facilitiesand using information andcommunication technologies.

A people-friendly administration isthe hallmark of good governance. Mygovernment re-affirms its commitmentto further improving the deliverymechanism at the cutting edge level.The redressal of public grievances willbe made more effective by using moderntechnology.

Hon’ble Members, Haryana is one ofthe fastest growing economies in thecountry. Obviously, it raisesexpectations. My government is awareof the challenge and will continue totake necessary measures to add furtherimpetus to the pace of development. Atthe same time, the government willensure an inclusive growth for allsections of society. I have no doubt thatthe august House will provide thenecessary guidance in achieving thisobjective." g

Nine ministers make itto the Hooda team -six Cabinet ministersand three Ministers ofState. Of these, fourare Independents -one a Cabinetminister and threeMinisters of State.Nine legislators werealso administered theoath of office asChief ParliamentarySecretaries. Theyinclude threeIndependents.

Amanbir Kaur Brar

AFTER the results of theAssembly elections weredeclared, Bhupinder Singh

Hooda was sworn in as ChiefMinister on October 25. Cheeringcrowds greeted Hooda as he took theoath for the second term at theHaryana Raj Bhawan. Hooda’smother Hardai Devi and wife AshaHooda also attended the ceremony.

Nine ministers were administeredthe oath, of which six are of Cabinetrank and three Ministers of State.

Among the six Cabinet ministers,there are only two old faces -- CaptAjay Singh Yadav and Randeep SinghSurjewala. Mahender Partap Singh,Om Prakash Jain, Paramvir Singhand Geeta Bhukkal are the newCabinet ministers. Four Cabinetberths have been left vacant.

There are three Ministers of State.All three are Independents. GopalKanda from Sirsa, Shiv Charan fromFaridabad NIT and Sukhbir Katariafrom Gurgaon are all first-timeMLAs. No one has been givenindependent charge and they are

HARYANA REVIEW, NOVEMBER 2009COVER STORY8

Hooda back incommand withhis new brigade

attached with various ministers.Some of the heavyweights in the

Congress have not found place in theCouncil of Ministers. These includeformer speaker Raghuvir SinghKadian, former Ministers of StateKiran Chaudhary and Savitri Jindal,and Sampat Singh, who recentlyswitched sides from the INLD to the Congress.

The defeat of prominent Congresscandidates has resulted in many newfaces becoming ministers. Theheavyweights who lost the electionsinclude former finance ministerBirender Singh, former educationminister Mange Ram Gupta, formerindustries minister Lachman DasArora, former urban local bodiesminister A C Choudhry and HPCCchief Phool Chand Mullana.

CABINET MINISTERS

After a long wait, the ministers wereadministered the oath at the HaryanaRaj Bhawan on November 7. CaptAjay Singh Yadav, a sixth-time MLA,was the first to take oath. He hasbeen given the portfolios of Finance,Planning, Institutional Finance andCredit Control, Irrigation, Forests

and Environment.Randeep Singh Surjewala will

take care of Water Supply andSanitation, Parliamentary Affairs,Electronics and InformationTechnology, Science and Technologyand Public Works Department(Building and Roads).

Mahender Partap Singh will holdthe portfolios of Power, RenewableEnergy, Labour and Employment,

Food and Supplies, Urban LocalBodies and Industries andCommerce.

Om Prakash Jain from PanipatRural, the only Independent tobecome a Cabinet minister, will holdthe portfolios of Transport, Tourism,Civil Aviation and Hospitality.

Paramvir Singh from Tohana hasbeen given the portfolios ofAgriculture, Animal Husbandry,Dairying, Fisheries and Cooperation.

Geeta Bhukkal has been given theportfolios of Education andLanguages, Social Justice andEmpowerment, Women and ChildDevelopment, Welfare of ScheduledCastes and Backward Classes,Health, and Printing and Stationery.

MINISTERS OF STATE

Among the Ministers of State, ShivCharan will hold the portfolios ofRevenue and Disaster Management(attached with the Chief Minister),Consolidation and Rehabilitation.Gopal Kanda has been given theportfolios of Home, Sports and YouthAffairs (attached with the ChiefMinister), and Industries andCommerce (attached with theIndustries Minister). SukhbirKataria will hold the portfolios ofAgriculture and Cooperation forwhich he will be attached with theAgriculture and CooperationMinisters.

CHIEF PARLIAMENTARYSECRETARIES

Nine legislators have been appointedChief Parliamentary Secretaries. Ofthem, three are Independents --Prahlad Singh Gillan Khera, JalebKhan and Sultan Singh. The ChiefMinister administered the oath tothe newly-appointed ChiefParliamentary Secretaries at theHaryana Niwas.

The Chief ParliamentarySecretaries have been attached withvarious ministers. Anita Yadav willassist the ministers holding theportfolios of Food and Supplies, andWomen and Child Development.

Dan Singh will assist theEducation and Excise and TaxationMinisters.

Dharambir Singh will assistAgriculture, Development andPanchayats Ministers and Jai VeerValmiki will assist the Social WelfareMinister. Jaleb Khan will assist the


Harmohinder Singh Chatha hasbeen appointed Speaker

of the House

The Council of Ministers

10 HARYANA REVIEW, NOVEMBER 2009COVER STORY

CAPT AJAY SINGHYADAV:

Finance, Irrigation,Forests,

Environment,Planning,

InstitutionalFinance and Credit

Control

RANDEEP SINGHSURJEWALA: Water

Supply andSanitation,

ParliamentaryAffairs, Electronicsand Information

Technology,Science and

Technology, andPWD (B&R)

MAHENDERPARTAP SINGH:Industries and

Commerce, Power,Labour and

Employment,Urban Local

Bodies, Food andSupplies, and

Renewable Energy

OM PRAKASH JAIN:Transport,

Tourism, CivilAviation

and Hospitality

PARAMVIR SINGH:Agriculture,

Cooperation,Animal Husbandry,

Dairying andFisheries

GEETA BHUKKAL:Education &

Languages, Health,Social Justice &Empowerment,Women & ChildDevelopment,

Welfare of SCs &Backward Classes,

and Printing &Stationery.

CABINET MINISTERS

HARYANA REVIEW, NOVEMBER 2009 11COVER STORY

Revenue and Disaster Managementand Employment Ministers.Similarly, Prahlad Singh GillanKhera has been attached with thePWD Minister. Ram Kishan Fauji hasbeen attached with the ministerswith the portfolios of Health,Medical Education, Administrationof Justice and Hospitality.

Sharda Rathore will assist theministers with the portfolios ofTechnical Education, PublicRelations and Cultural Affairs andUrban Local Bodies. Similarly, SultanSingh will be attached withIrrigation and Transport Ministers.

7-MEMBER PANEL TO MONITORGOVERNMENT FUNCTIONING

Congress president Sonia Gandhi hasconstituted a seven-memberco-ordination committee under AICCgeneral secretary in-charge of the

state Prithviraj Chavan to have akeen look at the functioning of thegovernment. Former Financeminister Birender Singh is itsco-chairman. The other membersinclude state unit president PhoolChand Mullana, Union TourismMinister Kumari Selja, MP RamPrakash and Finance Minister CaptAjay Singh Yadav.

The committee will direct thegovernment so that it keeps thepromises made in the partymanifesto, says Birender Singh.While the constitution of thecommittee at an early stage has comeas a surprise, the leaders say it is anattempt to ensure that thegovernment does not “commit a fauxpas which may cost the party dear”.The committee will also act as abridge between the government and the party. g

SHIV CHARAN

Revenue andDisasterManagement,ConsolidationandRehabilitation

SUKHBIRKATARIA

AgricultureandCooperation

GOPAL KANDA

Home,Industries andCommerce,Sports andYouth Affairs

MINISTERS OF STATE

The state government hasappointed Prof Virender

as political advisor to theChief Minister. Earlier

also, he held the samepost. Sunder Pal has been

appointed as mediaadvisor to Hooda.Dhramvir, the former

chief secretary, has beenappointed as the StateElection Commissioner.

The Chief Parliamentary Secretaries with Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda


Haryana Review Bureau

THE Congress-led government inHaryana is now secure. FiveMLAs from the Haryana Janhit

Congress have formally merged withthe Congress. Only Kuldeep Bishnoi isleft in the HJC. With the sevenIndependents and the lone BSP MLAsupporting the Congress, it has thesupport of 53 members in a House of 89.

The six-member HJC recently split,with four of its MLAs constitutingtwo-third strength of the party,joining the Congress.

The four HJC MLAs -- Rao NarenderSingh (Narnaul), Zile Ram Chochra(Assandh), Satpal Sangwan (Dadri) andVinod Bhayana (Hansi) -- said they had“legally split” and “merged with theCongress” as they constituted two-

thirds of the HJC Legislature Partystrength — in the process escaping theanti-defection law. Fifth MLA DharamSingh Chhokkar from Samalkha alsojoined the Congress.

The HJC is now left with just oneMLA — Kuldeep Bishnoi, Adampurlegislator and the younger son offormer chief minister Bhajan Lal.

The four MLAs appeared beforeSpeaker Harmohinder Singh Chatha torequest him to approve their mergerwith the Congress. Their request wasexpeditiously granted. In his one-pageorder, Chatha said that afterconfirming that the HJC MLAs haddecided to merge with the Congress oftheir free will, as well as receivingconfirmation from Leader of theCongress Legislature Party BhupinderSingh Hooda, and Haryana Congresspresident Phool Chand Mullana, that

the party had accepted the proposal, hewas allowing the merger. Chatha saidhe was satisfied that the merger was inkeeping with the provisions of theanti-defection law.

Another HJC MLA, Dharam Singh,Chhokkar from Samalkha, sent a fax tothe Speaker, stating that he, too,endorsed the decision of his fourcolleagues to merge with the Congress.He is believed to have written that hecould not attend the meeting of theHJC Legislature Party held inChandigarh earlier in the day, but heendorsed the decision of hiscolleagues.

Hence, the Speaker should alsoapprove his merger with the Congress.The Speaker called Chhokkar toappear before him to ascertain if hehad sent the fax and it was of his own volition. g

Five HJC members merge with the Congress

Ruling party gets a shotin the arm


Haryana Review Bureau

IT was no hurried business for MrBhupinder Singh Hooda who tookoath of office amidst an

enthusiastic crowd of supporters atthe Haryana Raj Bhawan on October25. He began his second consecutiveterm as the Chief Minister in a quietand serene manner. The Governor,Mr Jagannath Pahadia, whoadministered him the oath of officeadmired the confidence of the ChiefMinister who was yet to prove hismajority. Mr Hooda symbolisesgentlemanliness in an otherwisemurky atmosphere of politics. He iscandid in his approach towardspolitical and social issues.Gentlemanliness sans vindictivenessmarks out the man who loves playingtennis and rearing good-breed cows.

His first term had begun in March 2005.

Mr Hooda comes from anillustrious family of freedomfighters. His grandfather ChaudhryMatu Ram, uncle Dr Ramji Lal andfather Chaudhry Ranbir Singh madehuge contributions to the freedommovement and social reforms.Ranbir Singh had been in theforefront of the freedom movement.He was a member of the ConstituentAssembly, minister in Punjab andmember of the Lok Sabha.

Mr Hooda was born on September15, 1947 at Sanghi village in Rohtak.He had his education at Balachadi inGujarat, Kunjpura in Karnal, Delhiand Chandigarh and did his BA, LLB.

A scion of Haryana's leadingpolitical family, Mr Hooda waselected to the Lok Sabha four times:in 1991, 1996, 1998 and 2004. He was

elected to the stateAssembly in 2000 from theKiloi constituency. Hereturned from the sameconstituency in the bye-electionwith a record margin of 1.04lakh votes in 2005. The margin isunprecedented for any chiefminister in the state. Again in 2009,he was elected from the GarhiSampla - Kiloi Assemblyconstituency by a margin of 72,100votes, the highest by any candidatein the recent Assembly elections.

An agriculturist and advocate byprofession, he takes keen interest inpolitics and has been serving themasses in various capacities. He waspresident, Block CongressCommittee, Kiloi, from 1972 to 1977;senior vice-president, HaryanaPradesh Youth Congress, from 1980 to1982; president, Haryana PradeshYouth Congress, from 1982 to 1983;and chairman, Panchayat Samiti,Rohtak, from 1983 to 1987. He is aseasoned politician and waspresident of the HPCC from 1996 to2001. He was the Leader of theOpposition in the Haryana Assemblyfrom 2001 to 2004.

Mr Hooda was convenor of theHaryana Congress ParliamentaryGroup in Parliament from 1994 to1996 and Member Executive,Congress Parliamentary Party, from1994 to 1999. He has been member ofthe AICC since 1992; secretary,Parliamentary Farmers' Forum,since 1995; and president, All IndiaYoung Farmers' Association,Haryana. He was also secretary, JatEducation Society, Rohtak; andmember, Managing Committee, DAVEducational Institute, Hassangarh,Haryana.

Mr Hooda has also served asdirector, New Bank of India, 1989-92, and working president of the AllIndia Freedom Fighters’ SuccessorsOrganisation and the NationalFederation of Railway Porters,Vendors and Bearers.

Mr Hooda attended the WorldYouth Festival in Moscow in 1986,World Parliamentary Conference inChina, International Conference inRussia as a delegate of AICC and theOISCA International Conference inJapan and South Korea. He has alsovisited Hong Kong, UAE and Russia.

He takes keen interest inrendering social service in ruralareas. Reading and sports are hisfavourite pastimes. He is acolour-holder in tennis; cricket,badminton and tennis being hisfavourite sports.

Mr Hooda believes that thereshould be no difference betweenprecepts and practice. He showsindefatigable energy, putting in 16hours a day and looking in detail ateach issue and finding solutions. Hisprevious tenure has been termed as ajourney through peace anddevelopment. g

Profile: Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Haryana’s 21st Chief Minister

A man of peace and progress


Aparna Pawar

THE endless wait is over as theelection results are out inHaryana. Haryanvis are

generally restless and itch forchange. The excitement to knowabout the results was writ large onpeople’s faces on the day of counting.Everyone was tuned to the televisionsets and radios.

The Congress is back in power. Inthe fight for 90 seats in the Assembly,the Congress got 40 seats, followed bythe Indian National Lok Dal's 31. Thenewly-formed Haryana JanhitCongress secured six seats, the BJP

four and the BSP and ShiromaniAkali Dal one each. SevenIndependents also emergedvictorious and they have played avital role in the formation of the government.

After the parliamentary electionsin which the Congress had won nineout of 10 seats, the Congress had highexpectations. And it went in for anearly poll. But the results were belowexpectations. The vote share of theCongress is less as compared to theLok Sabha elections. This time theCongress’ vote share was 35.07 percent as compared to 41.4 per cent inthe parliamentary elections. On the

other hand, in the Lok Sabhaelections, the INLD’s vote share wasonly 15.68 per cent, but this time itsgraph has risen to 25.62 per cent. Yetit was less than the 2005 vote sharewhen the party got just nine seats.

The results of the 12th Assemblyelections show the neck and neckfight between the Congress and INLD.This time, the INLD has come upwell. Both parties have given eachother a tough fight in manyconstituencies.

HIGH POLLING PERCENTAGE

The promises made by the politicalparties during the campaign madepeople sit up and debate. Whereas theCongress laid stress on overalldevelopment, the INLD candidatesraised questions aboutmismanagement. Rising prices, lawand order situation, power, water andmany other issues were raised by theopposition to give a tough fight to theruling party.

People have actively participated

CONGRESSback in saddleBy securing 40 seats, the Congress emergedas the single largest party


in the polls to get a governmentwhich can fulfil their aspirations.The total polling percentage in theAssembly elections went up to 72.71per cent, which was 71.96 per cent inthe 2005 elections and 69.01 per centin the 2000 elections. This shows thelevel of enthusiasm among the publicand competition among the parties.

CHALLENGES

The Congress registered an emphaticvictory in a few constituencies. ChiefMinister Bhupinder Singh Hoodadefeated INLD candidate SatishKumar in Garhi Sampla Kiloi by72,100 votes; Kiran Chaudharydefeated Gajraj Singh of the INLD inTosham by 46,107 votes; and VenodSharma defeated Charanjeet Kaur ofthe Shiromani Akali Dal in AmbalaCity by 35,550 votes. In Kalanaur,Congress candidate Shakuntalaprevailed over Naga Ram of the INLDby 27,860 votes and in Jhajjar, Geetabeat Kanta Devi by 27,783 votes. InBaroda and Kharkhauda, Rameshwar

Dayal and Jai Veer defeated INLDcandidates Kapoor Singh Narwal andRaju by 25,343 and 25,284 votes,respectively. In Ballabhgarh andKaithal, the Congress candidatesdefeated the BJP and INLDcandidates by 23,844 and 22,502 votes,respectively.

On the other hand, in UchanaKalan and Badhra, the INLD gave atough fight to the Congress. InUchana Kalan, Om Prakash Chautalaof the INLD defeated Birender Singhof the Congress by mere 621 votes,whereas in Badhra, Raghbir Singh ofthe INLD defeated Ranbir SinghMahendra of the Congress by 709votes. In constituencies like Pataudi,Bawal, Kalka and Narwana, the INLDwon with a comfortable margin.

FIRST-TIME WINNERS

The Haryanvis have given a chance tomany new faces this time as out of 90members, 50 per cent are first-timers.Among the 40 winning candidates ofthe Congress, 12 are first-timers.They include Anand Kaushik fromFaridabad, Ram Niwas Ghorela fromBarwala, Shakuntala from Kalanaur,B B Batra from Rohtak, RaghubirTewatia from Prithla, Jai TirathDahiya from Rai, Anil Dhantori fromShahabad Markanda and NareshSelwal from Uklana.

In its flock of 31 members, theINLD has 21 first-timers. Theyinclude Naseem Ahmed fromFerozepur Jhirka, NarenderSangwan from Gharaunda, HariChand Midha from Jind and DilbaghSingh from Yamunanagar.

Of the seven successfulIndependents, six are first-timers.They are Shiv Charan fromFaridabad NIT, Prahlad SinghGillan Khera fromFatehabad, SukhbirKataria from Gurgaon,Sultan Singh Ror fromPundri, Gopal Kandafrom Sirsa and JalebKhan from Hathin.

The BJP’s first-timewinners are GhanshyamSaraf from Bhiwani andKavita Jain from Sonepat.The Haryana JanhitCongress has three newmembers. The SAD hasopened its account withCharanjeet Singh fromKalanwali.

PAST POLITICAL SCENE

Haryana has witnessed many politicalupheavals. Since 1966 when Haryanacame into being, many parties haveruled and gone out of power. The firstelections in the state were held in 1967.At that time, the Congress won theelections from 48 constituencies out of81. But in November 1967, President'sRule was imposed in the state. In 1968,the elections were held again and theCongress came into power. From 1967to 1977, Haryana was administrated bythe Congress-led governments. In the1977 elections, the Assembly seatswere increased to 90. Then, the JanataParty won 75 seats and formed thegovernment. It was a great victory forthe Janata Party and the worst yearfor the Congress as it secured onlythree seats. In 1982, the Congressagain came into power. Since the 1987elections when the Lok Dal won 60seats and had an alliance with otherparties, the state has witnessed manychanges.

In the 1991 elections, there was aflood of political parties. Earlier, thecompetition was among the nationalparties and a few state parties. In 1991,

many regional partiesentered the fray. TheCongress won 51 seatsand formed thegovernment. In the 1996elections, the HaryanaVikas Party had analliance with the BJP toform government. In2000, the INLD emergedvictorious in 47constituencies andformed the government.In the 2005 elections, theCongress secured 67seats and took reins ofthe government. g

Party 2000 2005 2009Indian National Congress 21 67 40Indian National Lok Dal 47 9 31Bharatiya Janata Party 6 2 4Bahujan Samaj Party 1 1 1Nationalist Congress Party 1 1 -Haryana Janhit Party - - 6Haryana Vikas Party 2 - -Republican Party of India 1 - -Shiromani Akali Dal - - 1Others 11 10 7Total 90 90 90

Year Poll percentage

1967 72.651968 57.261972 70.461977 64.461982 69.871987 71.241991 65.861996 70.542000 69.012005 71.962009 72.71

INTERVIEW HARYANA REVIEW, NOVEMBER 200916

‘We lost some battles, but won the war’

INTERVIEW 17HARYANA REVIEW, NOVEMBER 2009

AS Chief MinisterBhupinder SinghHooda starts his

second term, he hasvarious issues to addressbesides taking the statefurther on the road todevelopment and socialjustice. Having formedthe government with thesupport of Independents,he has a toughopposition to contendwith. The Chief Ministeris confident ofcompleting his termand honouring hiscommitments. Herecently spoke to Rajiv Kapur.

A ruling party has returnedto power only for the secondtime in Haryana. What areyour views on it?

We thank the people for reposingfaith in the Congress and givingtheir mandate in favour of peace,development and welfare policies ofour party, which our government hadbeen pursuing for the last four-and-a-half years.

I am grateful to Congresspresident Sonia Gandhi for showingconfidence in my leadership. I assureyou that with good governance andby accelerating the pace ofdevelopment, I will meet theexpectations of people.

Though the number of seats wehave won is not according to ourexpectations, it is a historic victory.After the 1972 elections whicheverruling party went to the polls, itreceived a drubbing and its numberwas never more than 10. In thiselection, we are the single largestparty with 40 seats. The polling

registered an all-time high, breakingthe previous record of 1967.

What will be your thrustareas?

During my last tenure, we hadinherited an administration in whichthere had been total lawlessness andchaos and we had to work withutmost sincerity and dedication toput development activities back ontrack. During this term, the pace ofdevelopment will be furtheraccelerated.

The priorities of my governmentwill be to make Haryana aneducational hub, create moreavenues of employment byaccelerating industrialisation, andensure an increase in agriculturalproduction, adequate health facilitiesand social justice to people. As in theprevious term, we will ensureuniform development of the state.

What is your vision for thenext five years?

We will continue to follow thedictum of making Haryana a leadingstate in every field. From theHaryana Day, we have initiated amassive programme of constructionand upgradation of roads andbuildings, for which a provision ofRs 1,600 crore has been made forimmediate expenditure. Theprogramme will not only change thefacet of rural areas, but also createample employment opportunities.The damged roads will be repaired.

On the power front, we willfurther accelerate work on powerprojects so that Haryana can becomepower surplus. The state governmenthas got, in principle, approval fromthe Centre for setting up the firstnuclear power project at Kumhariavillage in Fatehabad district. Theacquisition of land and pre-projectactivities will commence soon andthe Haryana Power GenerationCorporation Limited has beendesignated as the nodal agency forthe project.

How has the voter reactedthis time?

The people have given us mandateand have supported our policies ofpeace and development. We won the

war but lost some battles because ofour shortcomings, which includeinfighting in the party and faultydistribution of tickets. Some peoplein the party let us down for their ownexistence. We will analyse everythingand try our best to remove theglitches. We thank the people onceagain for reposing faith in theprogrammes and policies of theCongress.

Will a strong opposition be athreat to government?

A strong opposition is an asset in ademocracy and it is good that wehave a strong opposition this time. Ihope the opposition parties will playa constructive role in speedydevelopment of the state.

The INLD vote share has gonedown by one per cent. In the lastelection, the INLD had got 26.8 percent votes and only nine seats, butthis time, they have got 25.6 per centvotes but have won 31 seats.

What will be the priorities ofyour government?

Our priorities will be to ensurecompletion of the ongoing powerprojects, which will add 5,000 MW tothe state kitty and make it powersurplus. My government hadinherited the problem of shortage ofpower when we assumed office in2005. At that time, the powergeneration in the state was 1,587 MW.

When we took over, only one powerproject had been set up in the state in40 years. In the last four-and-a-halfyears, we have initiated work on fourpower projects. The 600 MW ChhotuRam Thermal Plant, Yamunanagar,has started production and another600 MW unit is coming up there.

The other power projects being setup include the Rajiv Gandhi ThermalPower Project, Khedar, Hisar, whosefirst unit will start production inDecember 2009 and the second will becompleted by March 2010.

The first two units of the IndiraGandhi Super Thermal PowerProject, Jhajjar, will be completed by2010 and the third by 2011. Similarly,the first and second units of the 1,320MW Mahatma Gandhi ThermalPower Project, Jhajjar, will startproduction by 2011 and 2012,respectively. g

HARYANA REVIEW, NOVEMBER 200918 COVER STORY

Amanbir Kaur Brar

THE Congress government withBhupinder Singh Hooda as theChief Minister, is back in

Haryana to take the state into a newdawn of progress. In its second term,the government is committed toserving the people of the state in thebest possible way. In its previousterm, Haryana touched new heights ofgrowth in different spheres --agriculture, power, irrigation,education, health, rural and urbandevelopment, social welfare andwomen and child development. Thistime also, the government iscommitted to developing all sectorsand will work to reduce the gapbetween the rich and the poor. Theneeds of the common man will be itstop priority. The Congressgovernment is committed to having aseparate high court for Haryana.Keeping the sentiments of the Sikhsin mind, a separate SGPC would beconstituted for the management ofgurdwaras in the state after gettinglegal advice. The government is alsocommitted to providing transparentand people-friendly governance.

AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS

Agriculture, the backbone ofHaryana’s economy, contributes 26.4per cent to the state’s GDP and 70 percent of the population depends on it.Agriculture remains the prime factorin the state's growth rate. Farmers’happiness determines the economichealth of the state. The governmentreiterates its commitment to thewelfare of the farming community.The government has already writtento the Union Agriculture Minister toincrease the MSP of paddy by Rs 100in view of the increased cost of paddycultivation following drought. Thegovernment is committed toincreasing the agricultural growthrate from 2 to 4 per cent in the comingfive years. Farmers will be given 50per cent subsidy on the purchase ofspecified farm machinery. With a viewto conserving water, farmers will bepaid 50 to 90 per cent subsidy on theuse of fountain, drip irrigation andlaying underground pipes. Toencourage the farmers to growsugarcane, Rs 2,000 subsidy will begiven on the purchase of sugarcaneseeds per acre, and, if needed,harvesting machines would be

In the serviceof people Programmes and policies of the new govt

RALLYING SUPPORT:Prime MinisterManmohan Singh andChief MinisterBhupinder Singh Hoodaat a rally

19HARYANA REVIEW, NOVEMBER 2009 COVER STORY 19

imported to facilitate mechanicalcutting of sugarcane.

The work on the Rs 350-croreNational Institute of Food Technologyand Management at Kundli will becompleted in a time-bound manner.All progressive farmers will betrained to open small food processingunits to add value to their produce.Food parks will come up at districtheadquarters on the lines of the two

made operational at Saha andSonepat. The range of crop insurancewill also be widened to cover morecrops by taking village as a unit.Organic farming will be encouragedas it fetches more money to thefarmers.

HORTICULTURE

The Congress government willpromote and develop horticulture asits topmost priority to enhance thefarmers’ income and generateemployment. Israelis are the leadersin horticulture and a tie-up will beforged with them to learn newtechniques of growing vegetables andfruits. A centre for experimentation infruits will be opened at Sirsa, and onefor vegetables at Karnal. The aridareas of Sirsa, Hisar, Bhiwani, Jhajjarand Mahendragarh will be broughtunder horticulture. It’s planned toconstruct about 4,000 ponds and fillthem with water as drip irrigation iscatching up fast. The Rs 1,500-croreterminal market will be established atGhanaur. It will include coolchambers, chambers to ripen fruits,and for categorisation, screening andcanning of vegetables to protect themfrom getting stale. The terminal willbe connected with 100 sub-centres tomake the project a success. Besides, 50per cent subsidy will be given onhybrid seeds of vegetables, andmarketing fee on vegetables will bereduced. Plant clinics will come up inall districts; growing of herbal plantswill be encouraged and a time-boundscheme will be started to give tubewellconnections for horticulture purposes.In the next five years, the land massunder horticulture will be doubledand subsidy will be given to farmersin the gestation period.

ANIMAL HUSBANDRY AND DAIRY

In Haryana, the per capita availabilityof milk is the highest in the country.Milk production will be doubled in thenext 10 years. The government willexpand dairy business in rural areasto provide employment opportunities.With a view to giving a boost toanimal husbandry, an independentAnimal Medical and Animal ScienceUniversity will be set up to boostquality animal production, education,research and training. The Murrahcattle breed will be further developedand people will be encouraged to formanimal husbandry societies. The

facility of artificial insemination willbe provided in every village. Theeducated unemployed will be trainedfor the purpose and about 7,000 ofthem will be employed. Dispensaries,hospitals and clinics will come upthroughout the state to protect thehealth of milch animals. Gaushalaswith 2,000 cows will have a dispensaryand those with 3,000 animals will havea hospital.

COOPERATION

On the lines of the Central loanwaiver scheme, the state cooperativebanks will launch a loan and interestwaiver scheme for the non-farmerloanees, including the landless,craftsmen, jewellers, shoemakers,artisans, weavers, small shopkeepers,barbers and blacksmiths. Under thescheme, up to a loan of Rs 10,000, thetotal loan and interest would bewaived on the condition that theloanee must have cleared the amountover and above Rs 10,000. The schemewill benefit about 3.6 lakh non-farmerloanees. A total of Rs 285 crore inprincipal amount and interest of Rs115 crore will be waived under thescheme. A medical insurance cover ofup to Rs 1 lakh will be extended tocooperative societies, comprisingfarming communities and labourunion societies, so that they can bearthe burden of hospitalisation. Loansto non-farmer professionals will beincreased from Rs 25,000 to Rs 35,000and reservation would be made forwomen in the membership andmanagement of cooperative societies.With the reorganisation of PrimaryAgricultural Cooperative Samitis, theloan amount is being disbursed atloanees’ doorstep. The Congress iscommitted to further helping thefarmer by revolutionising the farmcredit system.

FOOD SUPPLY AND CONSUMERPROTECTION

With a view to ensuring food security,the UPA government has announced anew policy. Under this, all BPLfamilies will be given 25 kilograms ofwheat and rice at Rs 3 per kilogramevery month. To benefit the generalpublic, the Public Distribution Systemwill be beefed up. The PublicDistribution System (Licence andControl) Ordinance-2009 will beimplemented. To give relief to theconsumers, the State Consumer


Grievance Redressal Authority will setup more benches to deal with thecrowded situation. At the BPL rationshops, pulses and edible oils will also beprovided. Pulses will be sold at Rs 25per kilogram. All ration card holderswill be provided with new e-rationcards, and a new food coupon pilotscheme will be started.

IRRIGATION

The Congress will make every effort toget the stay on linking the BhakraMainline Hansi-Butana Link Canalwith the BML Canal, vacated. Keepingthe interests of Haryana in view, thegovernment will enter into a newRenuka Dam Waters agreement. Thesecond phase of the Dadupur-NalwiIrrigation Project will be completed byJune 2010. The construction of the NCRwater supply channel worth Rs 322crore will be completed by March 2010to meet the demand for additionalwater in Gurgaon, Bahadurgarh,Sampla, Badli and Manesar. About 40per cent work on the construction ofthe Kaushalaya Dam has beencompleted. The remaining work will becompleted by June 2010. The work onmud clearance from Ottu Lake will befinished by December 2010 at the cost ofRs 69.68 crore. It will have the capacityto store 12,908 acre feet water and willirrigate 17,500 acres of additional land.The work to increase the capacity ofthe Western Yamuna Canal to 20,000cusecs will be completed soon. With aview to making water body on theMansi dam, the Lal Bahadur ShastriRecharge Channel will be built. For thereconstruction and increasing thecapacity of Bhindawas Lake, a sum ofRs 46.98 crore will be spent and it willbe completed by March 2011. In the nextfive years, 6,363 water courses will berepaired. Panchayats and water userswill be involved in the maintenance andrepair of water courses. A sum ofRs 100 crore will be spent on themaintenance and repair of 1,000 pondsin villages under the joint scheme ofthe Irrigation Department and CADA.A barrage will come up on the Yamunain Palwal district to meet the needs ofdrinking water and irrigation in Mewatand Palwal regions.

POWER

The government wants to makeHaryana power surplus by 2012.Haryana will start getting power fromone new power plant every year in the

next five years. The governmenttargets the production of additional5,000 MW for which it has set up fourplants. While generation from a powerplant has started, the other three willbe commissioned on time. Already,power is being generated at the ChhotuRam Thermal Plant at Yamunanagar.Another 600 MW unit is coming up atYamunanagar and a 1,320 MW gaspower plant at Faridabad. The firstunit of the Rajiv Gandhi ThermalPower Plant, Khedar, will be completedby December 2009 and the second byMarch 2010. Together, these willproduce 1,200 MW power. The first twounits of the Indira Gandhi SuperThermal Power Plant, Jhajjar, will becompleted by 2010, and the third willbe ready by January 2011. The plantwill produce 1,500 MW power.Similarly, the first and second units ofthe Mahatma Gandhi Super ThermalPlant, Jhajjar, will start producing1,320 MW by 2011 and 2012, respectively.As much as 1,400 MW of additional

power will be available from privatepower plants in Gujarat and Orissa by2011. Haryana's participation in settingup power plants by the Centre and theneighbouring states will be increasedand long-term agreements executed.The Congress government promises togive its rural and urban consumers 20to 22 hours of power supply a day inthe next five years. It also reiterates itscommitment to give eight-hour powersupply to the farming sector forrunning tubewells. To reform thepower distribution system, oldelectricity cables, poles andtransformers will be replaced in thecoming five years. A sum of Rs 40,000crore has been allocated for powergeneration, distribution andtransmission during the 12th Five YearPlan. The Apna Transformer Yojana,which has been introduced in Rohtakand Kaithal, will be extended to otherparts of the state. Haryana's firstnuclear power plant will come up atKumharia in Fatehabad district.

The Chief Minister makes a point


EDUCATION For improving the current educationsystem, stress on quality will be thefoundation of the government'seducation policy. All schools will havelibraries. Students will get freeworkbooks and geometry boxes. Allprimary schools with more than 250students will be made middle. To trainteachers, a state-level teacher trainingcentre will come up at Kurukshetra.Free Braille books will be given to theblind. There is a plan to set up TeachersSelection Board and Higher EducationParishad. The government iscommitted to providing substantialfinancial assistance to Gurukuls in thestate. The second language status toPunjabi will be defined to make clearthe objectives for which it has beengiven. To bring about quality ineducation, diploma and postgraduationcourses will be started in universitieson the Montessori pattern. Computereducation will be made compulsoryfrom Class VI in all government

schools. Twenty-five per cent seats inRajiv Gandhi Education City will bereserved for the Haryana students. Witha view to giving boost to scienceeducation among the youth, a ScienceEducation Mission will be launched.Research will be promoted in the fieldof science and technology.

TECHNICAL EDUCATION

With the help of technologicalinstitutes, full fee concession will begiven to Backward Classes ‘A’,Scheduled Castes, women andeconomically weaker and disabledstudents. The Indian Institute ofManagement, Indian Institute ofInformation Technology, State Instituteof Fashion and Design, State Instituteof Film and Television, State Instituteof Fine Arts and State Institute ofProfessional Studies will come up atvarious places in the state. All technicalinstitutes will be developed on modernlines and six new state technologyinstitutes will be opened. Two multi-technology institutes will be opened inMewat, where 50 per cent seats will bereserved for the students of the region.

INDUSTRIAL TRAINING

In the coming years, the governmentwill open 1,500 skill developmentcentres. Under the Skill DevelopmentMission, one lakh youths, includingunemployed village workers, artisansand unskilled craftsmen, will betrained. Under the skill developmentscheme, school dropouts and labourersof the unorganised sector will betrained at 400 training centres bylaunching short-term modular courses.In the next five years, about five lakhpeople will be trained, and 50technology training institutes in theprivate sector established, which will beattached with areas where no suchtraining is available. Also, 30technology training institutes will beopened and the number of seats willalso be increased.

HEALTH FACILITIES

Health facilities will be improved in thestate. Hospitals will be modernised withthe latest gadgets and CT scan will bemade available in all district hospitals.The Agroha Medical College will have100 seats instead of 50 and thepostgraduate courses will also beinitiated. The Khanpur Kalan MedicalCollege will start its academic sessionfrom 2010. Dental and nursing colleges

will come up at the Khanpur KalanMedical College complex. An ESI-basedmedical college is coming up inFaridabad. One medical college will beset up at the divisional level. An AllIndia Institute of Medical Sciences willbe established in Bhardsa village ofJhajjar district.The PGI in Rohtak willbe expanded and the postgraduationseats will be increased. The NationalInstitute of Cancer will be establishedin the state and a National Institute ofAgeing will be opened. Free supply ofmedicines in government hospitals willcontinue. The government will set up ahospital in every tehsil and a healthcentre in every development block. Freehealth care and surgery for the BPLpersons and slum-dwellers willcontinue. The cheap surgery packagewill also continue in all governmenthospitals. Each district will have amobile medical unit. A Mother andChild Health Care Centre ofinternational standard will be set up inthe state. A mobile trauma centre willbe set up after every 50 km on thenational highways.

PANCHAYATI RAJ AND RURALDEVELOPMENT

The government will take forward RajivGandhi’s commitment to strengthenrural development. To meet the risingdemand for housing in villages, the LalDora limit will be extended.

The colonies built by giving 100-sq-yard plots to each SC and BPL familyunder the Mahatma Gandhi GraminBasti Yojana will be provided withpower, drinking water, sewerage,cemented streets and clean lanes. Tocreate urban facilities in villages and toimplement the scheme, Rs 3,000 crore isbeing allocated. Under the scheme,Ponds are Good Even Today, ponds andpools will be revived and village pondswill be cleaned and, if need be, thesewould be covered by walls. Thegovernment will press the Centre toreorient NREGA to suit the needs ofHaryana. The widening of the scope ofNREGA will benefit all those farmerswho build pools on their land, createchannels for irrigation or start otherdevelopment works.

SOCIAL WELFARE

In every village, senior citizens’ clubswill be set up where they will besubjected to health check-up once amonth. The problems and grievances ofold-age pensioners will be heard and

solved at the sub-divisional level. Thegovernment will pay pension to thedisabled right from the time of birth.Currently, it is being paid after adisabled attains the age of 18.Monitoring and streamlining of theBPL card holders will continue. Officerswill be appointed to deal with thesituation and all problems related to theBPL card holders will be sorted out attheir level.

SPORTS & YOUTH AFFAIRS

Haryana will go in for talent hunt tospot budding sportspersons by givingthem training and scholarships. Anacademy and a sports university will beestablished to give quality training tosportspersons. By establishing a sportscity, the capability and confidence toorganise sporting events will be broughtup to international standard. TheHaryana Sports Authority will be set upto develop and manage sportscomplexes. A new sports policy will beevolved with an eye on the problemsand needs of the youth. Sportsnurseries will be set up in all districtsand every large village will have astadium. On the lines of the NationalInstitute of Sports, Patiala, Haryanawill have its own sports institute. Oneper cent of the GDP will be spent onsports for which the State Sports Fundwill be created.

CLEAN, TRANSPARENT ANDACCOUNTABLE ADMINISTRATION

The Congress government reiterates itscommitment to giving people acompetent, transparent and accountablegovernment which will be free from redtape. Foolproof arrangements will bemade for the redressal of publicgrievances in government offices on apriority basis. A grievances redressaldepartment will be created.

LAW AND ORDER

The law and order situation will beimproved. Criminals will not be spared.The police force will be modernised.The government promises harmoniousrelations between the citizens andpolice. The housing and other problemsof the police staff will be addressed. Aseparate authority will be established tohear the complaints against policemen.Police schools will be set up on the linesof Sainik Schools. The cases forreinstatement of 1,600 policemen whowere sacked by the INLD governmentwill be sympathetically heard.

DRINKING WATER AND SEWERAGE

This time, the government’s mission isto provide drinking water to everyhouse. Having provided free drinkingwater connections and water tanksunder the Indira Gandhi DrinkingWater Scheme to about eight lakhfamilies, the government now promisesto give free water connections tofamilies in the rural and urban areasfor nominal monthly maintenance fee.Under the Sufficient Drinking Waterfor All programme, 70 litres of waterper head in the rural areas and 135litres of water per head per day in theurban areas will be made available.

In the districts of Jhajjar, Rewari,Mahendragarh, Sonepat and Gurgaonwhere the quality of drinking water isnot so fit, RO-based water treatmentplants will be set up on a large scaleunder the public-private partnership.A Rs 150-crore project will be set up inMahendragarh to address the waterproblem in the area. With this, theCongress government promises to putan end to water shortage in 64 villages.The sewerage system will be laid in alltowns in the next five years and thesewage treatment plants will be set up

in three-fourth of the towns. In thenext two years, drinking water andsewerage facilities will be provided inAmbala, Bhiwani, Dadri, Fatehabad,Hansi, Julana, Kalayat, Karnal,Mahendragarh, Narnaul, Narwana,Safidon, Sirsa, Tohana and Uchana.

NETWORK OF ROADS AND BRIDGES

The Congress government willstrengthen the road network byspending Rs 10,000 crore. About 6,000km length of roads will be widened andstrengthened and 1,000 km length ofnew roads will be laid. All nationalhighways passing through the statewill not be less than 10-metre wide inthe next two years and these will befour-laned. The width of all statehighways and main roads in thedistricts will be seven metres and thesewill be two-laned. All district-to-districtroads will be 10-metre wide and four-laned. The roads which connect threeor more villages will be widened from3.66 metre to 5.5 metre. Aftercompletion of the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal Expressway on schedule, it willbe linked to the main cities. SpecialIndustrial Corridor and SpecialDedicated Railway Corridor will be


Well-irrigated fields


constructed. Industrial belts will bedeveloped along with these to generateemployment opportunities. From 1968to 2005, only 16 railway over-bridgeswere built. The number of railwayover-bridges had doubled during thepresent regime. And by 2014, theirnumber will be trebled.

URBAN DEVELOPMENT

All illegal and unauthorised colonies inthe state will be monitored andregularised. For this, a strict work planwill be implemented. Communityfacilities like power, drinking water,sewerage and roads will be provided insuch colonies as are regularised. In thenext five years, slums will be clearedfrom the municipal committee areasand its inhabitants will be providedwith urban facilities. Two lakh cheaphouses will be built in urban areas inthe next five years. A solid wastemanagement scheme will be launchedto handle solid waste in all municipalcommittees in a scientific manner. Allleasehold properties in AmbalaCantonment will be made freehold.World standard public facilities will beprovided in cities like Gurgaon,Faridabad and Panchkula. With a viewto undertaking development of urbancomplexes, the Rajiv Gandhi ShehriBhagedari Yojana will be started.Under this scheme, 60 per cent of theexpenses are met by the state and 40per cent by the beneficiaries. Toimprove job prospects in the Delhiregion, the Metro will be extended andGurgaon, Faridabad, Bahadurgarh andKundli will be connected to it.

COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY

In the last four and a half years, thestate has witnessed an unparalleledboom in the industrial sector. With aneye on the overall industrialdevelopment, a new industrial policy

based on public-private partnershipwill be framed. The government willensure financial investment andindustrial development. Onlineregistration of industries, firms andsocieties will start. Besides, a singlewindow system and new policy forapproval of projects will be evolved.Industrial areas will be expanded, ifrequired. The government will come upwith facilities for entrepreneurs toencourage investment and theproposals under consideration will beimplemented. The Delhi-MumbaiFreight Corridor will be put to full useto ensure the import of raw materialand speedy export of goods.

LABOUR WELFARE

The registration of labourers will becomputerised and put online. Theminimum wages will be reviewed andrevised from time to time. About 150 to200 ESI dispensaries will be opened.Labourers will be issued smart cardsfor their PF accounts. A board will beconstituted for social security of theunorganised and self-employedlabourers. Labour welfare complexeswill be set up in all industrialtownships. Cheap rentalaccommodation will be provided to thebuilding and construction labourers.Integrated welfare service centres willbe set up for building and constructionlabourers. Sheds will be built at labourchowks for labourers. Besides, subsidywill be provided to industrial labourersfor constructing cheap houses.

EMPLOYMENT

The Rozgar Mission will be launched toprovide jobs to two lakh people in thenext five years. Online facility will beprovided for registration of theunemployed youth. The employers canalso upload their vacancies on thewebsite of the Employment

Department and can select the rightcandidate. The names of electricians,plumbers, masons, carpenters, painters,mechanics, domestic helps, gardeners,washermen and cooks who belong to theunorganised sector will be displayed onthe Employment Department's websiteso that recruiters can contact them. Theprogrammes for securing the livelihoodfor the poor will be initiated forroadside vendors. Tehbazari licenceswill be issued to the poor families ofroadside vendors.

WOMEN EMPOWERMENT ANDCHILD DEVELOPMENT

Social, economic and educationaldevelopment of women will remain thetop priority of the government.Reservation will be made for women injobs, local bodies, and educational andtechnical institutes. Sakshar MahilaSamoohs (Literate Women’s Groups)will be strengthened. Rebates will beoffered to women property holders.Micro-nutrient diet will be provided atthe anganwari centres. Health testprogrammes will be launched fordetecting anaemic children. Freefortified diet with iron will be providedto such children and informationregarding the fortified diet will be givento their parents. Full fee concession willbe given to the girls studying inpolytechnics and ITIs.

WELFARE SCHEMES

The scheme of scholarships to theScheduled Castes and Backward Class'A' people will continue. Under this,eight lakh SC children and five lakhchildren belonging to the BPL familieswill receive scholarships. The scheme ofgiving 100 square yard residential plotsto the SCs, OBCs and other sectionsliving below poverty line will continue.The fees will be waived for the childrenof SC, BC 'A' and other economicallyweaker sections in ITIs andpolytechnics. For providing pure andclean drinking water at the doorstep of10 lakh SC families, the policy ofproviding free water connections, tapsand tanks will continue under theIndira Gandhi Paejal Yojana. Thekanyadan amount given at the time ofthe marriage of the daughter of an SCfamily will be raised from Rs 15,000 toRs 31,000 under the Indira GandhiPriyadarshani Vivah Shagun Yojana.The limit of the marriage loan given tothe safai karamcharis will be increased. g

Improved road infrastructure


Randeep SinghSurjewalahas been electedMLA on theCongress ticketfrom Kaithalconstituency. He

is a BCom (Hons), MA (PoliticalScience) and LLB. He was an MLAin 1996 and 2005. He was a Cabinetminister in the previousgovernment headed by BhupinderSingh Hooda. He has again beeninducted as a Cabinet minister.

Om PrakashJainhas been electedindependent MLAfrom PanipatRuralconstituency. He

was also an MLA in 1996 and waschairman of HARCO Bank duringthe Bansi Lal government. He is agraduate and has been inductedas a Cabinet minister in thepresent government.

Capt AjaySingh Yadavhas been elected

MLA for the sixthtime from Rewariconstituency. He

was first elected from Rewari in1989. He was again returned fromthe same constituency in 1991,1996, 2000 and 2005. Capt Yadav isa BSc, LLB. He was commissionedin the Army in 1980 and resignedin 1987. He has been inducted as aCabinet minister.

Gopal Kanda has been electedindependent MLAfor the first timefrom Sirsaconstituency. Hehas been inducted

as a Minister of State in thepresent government.

Paramvir Singhhas been electedMLA from Tohanaconstituency onthe Congressticket for thesecond time. He

has been a member of the EquineDevelopment Board of India andthe National Horse BreedingSociety of India. He is a BA, LLB.In the previous Hooda ministry,he was a Parliamentary Secretary.Now he has been inducted as aCabinet minister.

Geeta Bhukkalhas been electedMLA from Jhajjarconstituency. Shewas also an MLAin 2005. She isMA (PoliticalScience), LLB, B

Ed, and has a PG Diploma inPersonnel Management andIndustrial Relations. She has beeninducted as a Cabinet minister.

SukhbirKatariahas been electedindependent MLAfrom Gurgaonconstituency forthe first time. He

is a masters in arts. He has beeninducted as a Minister of State inthe present government.

Shiv Charanhas been electedindependent MLAfrom FaridabadNIT constituencyfor the first time.He has been

inducted as a Minister of State inthe present government.

MahenderPartap Singhhas been electedMLA on theCongress ticketfor the fifth time.Earlier, he had

been elected in 1982, 1987, 1991 and2005. He is an undergraduate. Hehas been elected from BadkhalAssembly constituency this timeand has been inducted as aCabinet minister. Earlier also, hehad been a minister.

Council of Ministers and


Prahlad SinghGillan Kherahas been electedindependent MLAfor the first timefrom Fatehabadconstituency. He is

a graduate and has been inductedas a Chief ParliamentarySecretary.

Jai VeerValmikihas been electedMLA on theCongress ticketfrom Kharkhaudaconstituency for

the first time. He is a Plus Twopass. He has been inducted as aChief Parliamentary Secretary.

Sultan Singhhas been electedindependent MLAfrom Pundriconstituency. Hewas sarpanch ofhis village and

has been elected for the first timeas a legislator. He has beeninducted as a ChiefParliamentary Secretary.

Ram KishanFaujihas been electedMLA from BawaniKhera for thethird time.Earlier, he had

been elected in 2000 and 2005. Heis a Plus Two pass. He has beeninducted as a ChiefParliamentary Secretary.

Anita Yadavhas been electedMLA from Ateliconstituency forthe second time.

Earlier, she hadbeen elected fromthe same

constituency in 2005. She has beeninducted as a ChiefParliamentary Secretary.

Dharambirhas been electedMLA on theCongress ticketfrom Sohnaconstituency.Earlier also, he

was an MLA in 1987, 2000 and2005. He has been inducted as aChief Parliamentary Secretary inthe present government. In theprevious government also, he wasa Chief Parliamentary Secretary.

Dan Singhhas been electedMLA on theCongress ticketfromMahendragarhconstituency for

the second time. Earlier, he hadbeen elected from the sameconstituency in 2005. He is an MA,LLB, MBA, and has a Diploma inLabour Laws. He has beeninducted as a ChiefParliamentary Secretary.

Jaleb Khanhas been electedindependent MLAfrom Hathinconstituency forthe first time. Hehas been inductedas a ChiefParliamentarySecretary.

ShardaRathorehas been electedMLA from theBallabhgarhconstituency forthe second time.

Earlier, she was a ParliamentarySecretary. She is a BSc, MA andLLB. She has been inducted as aChief Parliamentary Secretary.

Chief Parliamentary Secys

Compiled by Rajiv Kapur


1. Kalka PARDEEP CHAUDHARY INLD 41,625 SATVINDER SINGH INC 20,438 21,1872. Panchkula DEVENDER INC 29,192 YOGRAJ SINGH INLD 16,932 12,2603. Naraingarh RAM KISHAN INC 37,298 RAM SINGH INLD 28,978 8,3204. Ambala Cantt ANIL VIJ BJP 49,219 NIRMAL SINGH INC 42,881 6,3385. Ambala City VENOD SHARMA INC 69,435 CHARANJEET KAUR SAD 33,885 35,5506. Mullana RAJBIR SINGH BARARA INLD 47,185 PHOOL CHAND MULLANA INC 44,248 2,9377. Sadhaura RAJPAL INC 47,263 BALWANT SINGH INLD 38,650 8,6138. Jagadhri AKRAM KHAN BSP 39,868 SUBHASH CHAND INC 35,540 4,3289. Yamunanagar DILBAGH SINGH INLD 46,984 DEVINDER CHAWLA INC 33,411 13,57310. Radaur BISHAN LAL INLD 29,593 SURESH KUMAR INC 25,198 4,39511. Ladwa SHER SINGH BARSHAMI INLD 32,505 KAILASHO SAINI INC 30,000 2,50512. Shahabad ANIL DHANTORI INC 30,843 JITENDER KUMAR INLD 27,102 3,74113. Thanesar ASHOK KUMAR ARORA INLD 29,516 RAMESH GUPTA INC 21,231 8,28514. Pehowa HARMOHINDER SINGH INC 35,429 JASWINDER SINGH INLD 31,349 4,08015. Guhla PHOOL SINGH INLD 37,016 DILLU RAM INC 31,763 5,25316. Kalayat RAMPAL MAJRA INLD 55,614 TEJENDER PAL SINGH INC 46,214 9,40017. Kaithal RANDEEP SURJEWALA INC 59,889 KAILASH BHAGAT INLD 37,387 22,50218. Pundri SULTAN Ind 38,929 DINESH KAUSHIK INC 34,878 4,05119. Nilokheri MAMU RAM INLD 470,01 MEENA RANI INC 30,278 16,72320. Indri ASHOK KASHYAP INLD 36,886 BHIM SAIN MEHTA INC 27,789 9,09721. Karnal SUMITA SINGH INC 35,894 JAI PARKASH HJC (BL) 32,163 3,73122. Gharaunda NARENDER SANGWAN INLD 35,256 VARINDER SINGH RATHORE INC 33,596 1,66023. Assandh ZILE RAM CHOCHRA HJC (BL) 20,266 RAGHBIR SINGH VIRK Ind. 16,726 3,54024. Panipat Rural OM PRAKASH JAIN Ind 29,770 BIMLA KADIAN INLD 17,134 6,63625. Panipat City BALBIR PAL SHAH INC 36,294 SANJAY BHATIA BJP 24,135 12,15926. Israna KRISHAN LAL PANWAR INLD 43,905 BALBIR INC 41,725 2,18027. Samalkha DHARM SINGH HJC (BL) 39,463 SANJAY CHHOKER INC 26,012 13,45128. Ganaur KULDEEP SHARMA INC 42,180 KRISHAN GOPAL TYAGI INLD 32,144 10,03629. Rai JAI TIRATH INC 35,514 INDERJIT INLD 30,848 4,66630. Kharkhauda JAIVEER INC 43,684 RAJU INLD 18,400 25,28431. Sonipat KAVITA JAIN BJP 37,954 ANIL KUMAR THAKKAR INC 35,297 2,65732. Gohana JAGBIR SINGH MALIK INC 35,249 ATUL MALIK INLD 22,233 13,01633. Baroda SRI KRISHAN INC 56,225 KAPOOR SINGH NARWAL INLD 30,882 25,34334. Julana PARMINDER SINGH DHULL INLD 45,576 SHER SINGH INC 32,765 12,81135. Safidon KALI RAM PATWARI INLD 38,618 BACHAN SINGH ARYA Ind. 23,182 15,43636. Jind HARI CHAND MIDDHA INLD 34,057 MANGE RAM GUPTA INC 26,195 7,86237. Uchana Kalan OM PRAKASH CHAUTALA INLD 62,669 BIRENDER SINGH INC 62,048 62138. Narwana PIRTHI SINGH INLD 63,703 RAMPHAL INC 43,063 20,64039. Tohana PARAMVIR SINGH INC 46,752 NISHAN SINGH INLD 42,900 3,85240. Fatehabad PRAHLAD SINGH Ind 48,637 DURA RAM INC 45,835 2,80241. Ratia GIAN CHAND INLD 50,095 JARNAIL SINGH INC 46,713 3,38242. Kalanwali CHARANJEET SINGH SAD 59,064 SUSHIL KUMAR INDORA INC 46,520 12,54443. Dabwali AJAY SINGH CHAUTALA INLD 64,868 K V SINGH INC 52,760 12,10844. Rania KRISHAN LAL INLD 48,241 RANJIT SINGH INC 44,590 3,65145. Sirsa GOPAL KANDA Ind 38,147 PADAM CHAND INLD 31,678 6,46946. Ellenabad OM PRAKASH CHAUTALA INLD 64,567 BHARAT SINGH BENIWAL INC 48,144 16,423

Constituency Winning candidate Party Votes Trailing candidate Party Votes Winning margin

The victors and the van

27COVER STORYHARYANA REVIEW, NOVEMBER 2009

47. Adampur KULDEEP BISHNOI HJC (BL) 48,224 JAI PRAKASH INC 42,209 6,01548. Uklana NARESH SELWAL INC 45,973 SEEMA DEVI INLD 42,235 3,73849. Narnaund SAROJ INLD 48,322 RAM KUMAR INC 38,225 10,09750. Hansi VINOD BHAYANA HJC (BL) 36,529 CHATTAR PAL SINGH INC 30,246 6,28351. Barwala RAM NIWAS GHORELA INC 29,998 SHEELA BHAYAN INLD 20,602 9,39652. Hisar SAVITRI JINDAL INC 32,866 GAUTAM SARDANA Ind 18,138 14,72853. Nalwa SAMPAT SINGH INC 38,138 JASMA DEVI HJC (BL) 27,237 10,90154. Loharu DHARAM PAL INLD 30,887 JAI PARKASH DALAL Ind 30,264 62355. Badhra RAGHBIR SINGH INLD 34,280 RANBIR SINGH MAHENDRA INC 33,571 70956. Dadri SATPAL HJC (BL) 27,790 RAJDEEP INLD 27,645 14557. Bhiwani GHANSYAM SARAF BJP 27,337 SHIV SHANKER BHARDWAJ INC 24,692 2,64558. Tosham KIRAN CHAUDHARY INC 62,290 GAJRAJ SINGH INLD 16,183 46,10759. Bawani Khera RAM KISHAN FOUJI INC 35,039 AZAD SINGH INLD 28,766 6,27360. Meham ANAND SINGH INC 43,964 SHAMSHER Ind 36,998 6,96661. Garhi Sampla-Kiloi BHUPINDER SINGH INC 89,849 SATISH KUMAR INLD 17,749 72,10062. Rohtak BHARAT BHUSHAN BATRA INC 47,051 MUNISH GROVER BJP 27,456 19,59563. Kalanaur SHAKUNTLA INC 52,142 NAGA RAM INLD 24,282 27,86064. Bahadurgarh RAJINDER SINGH JOON INC 38,641 NAFE SINGH RATHI INLD 19,289 19,35265. Badli NARESH KUMAR INC 33,186 BRIJENDER SINGH CHAHAR Ind 19,828 13,35866. Jhajjar GEETA INC 48,806 KANTA DEVI INLD 21,023 27,78367. Beri RAGHUVIR SINGH INC 37,742 CHATAR SINGH Ind 32,566 5,17668. Ateli ANITA YADAV INC 24,103 SANTOSH YADAV BJP 23,130 97369. Mahendragarh DAN SINGH INC 42,286 RAM BILASH SHARMA BJP 36,833 5,45370. Narnaul NARENDER SINGH HJC (BL) 25,011 BHANA RAM INLD 21,619 3,39271. Nangal Chaudhry BAHADUR SINGH INLD 32,984 RADHEY SHYAM INC 21,321 11,66372. Bawal RAMESHWAR DAYAL INLD 58,473 SHAKUNTLA BHAGWARIA INC 36,472 22,00173. Kosli YADUVENDER SINGH INC 47,896 JAGDISH YADAV Ind 44,473 3,42374. Rewari AJAY SINGH YADAV INC 48,557 SATISH Ind 35,269 13,28875. Pataudi GANGA RAM INLD 49,323 BHUPINDER INC 24,576 24,74776. Badshahpur DHARAM PAL INC 50,557 RAKESH Ind 39,172 11,38577. Gurgaon SUKHBEER Ind 41,013 DHARAMBIR INC 38,873 214078. Sohna DHARAMBIR INC 20,443 ZAKIR HUSSAIN BSP 19,938 50579. Nuh AFTAB AHMED INC 33,925 SANJAY BJP 17,021 16,90480. Ferozepur Jhirka NASEEM AHMED INLD 42,824 MAMMAN KHAN INC 24,630 18,19481. Punahana MOHAMMED ILYAS INLD 18,865 DAYAWATI BSP 16,177 2,68882. Hathin JALEB KHAN Ind 33,774 HARSH KUMAR INC 27,301 6,47383. Hodal JAGDISH NAYAR INLD 46,515 UDAY BHAN INC 43,894 2,62184. Palwal SUBHASH CHOUDHARY INLD 51,712 KARAN SINGH DALAL INC 45,040 6,67285. Prithla RAGHUBIR SINGH INC 34,647 TEK CHAND SHARMA BSP 31,492 3,15586. Faridabad NIT SHIV CHARAN TEJPAL Ind 23,461 AKAGAR CHAND CHAUDHRY INC 15,586 7,87587. Badkhal MAHENDER PARTAP INC 33,150 SEEMA TRIKHA BJP 20,471 12,67988. Ballabhgarh SHARDA RATHORE INC 35,535 SURENDER TEWATIA BJP 11,691 23,84489. Faridabad ANAND KAUSHIK INC 33,744 PARVESH CHAND BJP 22,903 10,84190. Tigaon KRISHAN PAL BJP 39,746 LALIT INC 38,928 818

Constituency Winning candidate Party Votes Trailing candidate Party Votes Winning margin

INC- Indian National Congress, INLD- Indian National Lok Dal, HJC (BL)- Haryana Janhit Congress (Bhajan Lal), BJP- Bharatiya Janata Party,BSP- Bahujan Samaj Party, SAD- Shiromani Akali Dal, Ind- Independent

nquished at the hustings

COVER STORY28

Nishant Prabhakar

ELECTION is the time when onewitnesses the real colours ofIndian democracy. It is time for

the leaders to go back to theirelectorate to seek mandate. But overthe years, the process of conductingelections has changed. And thischange has largely been ushered in bythe Election Commission withstringent application of provisions inthe Representation of the People Act,1951, and other constitutionalprovisions.

By and large, the recently-concluded Assembly elections to thethree states – Haryana, Maharashtraand Arunachal Pradesh -- werepeaceful. However, Haryana surprisedthe poll pundits by not onlywitnessing an incident-free electionbut also by registering the highestvoter turnout of 72.71 per cent. Andall this was achieved because of themeticulous planning done by the StateElection Commission.

The first step towards thebeginning of the election process wastaken with the revision of theelectoral rolls for which the referencedate was January 1. In Haryana, aspecial revision was undertaken intwo Assembly constituencies, vizBadshahpur and Gurgaon, as therewere complaints about omission ofnames in the electoral rolls used forthe parliamentary elections. Theelectoral rolls of these twoconstituencies were published onSeptember 3.

According to Chief ElectoralOfficer Sajjan Singh, “The ElectionCommission made the provision ofhaving photo electoral rollsmandatory. Efforts were made toincrease the photo coverage in theelectoral rolls.” During the revisionperiod, all those voters who werewithout a photograph in the rollswere advised to contact their nearestDesignated Photography Location orthe Electoral Registration Officer oftheir constituency. With these efforts,the Commission was able to have 99per cent coverage of voters withphotographs in the rolls.

Further, the Commission madeidentification of voters at the time ofpolls compulsory. The voters who wereprovided with Elector’s Photo IdentityCard (EPIC) were identified throughEPIC only. According to Additional

Chief Electoral Officer M L Kaushik,“The EPIC coverage in Haryana was99 per cent, while in ArunachalPradesh it was 88.42 per cent, and inMaharashtra, it was 80.35 per cent.Those who had not got their EPICsmade were advised to obtain the EPICfrom the Electoral RegistrationOfficers of their constituencies.”

The polls were conducted usingEVMs. The Election Commission hadmade arrangements to ensureavailability of adequate number ofEVMs. A two-stage randomisation ofEVMs was made under tight security.In the first stage, all EVMs stored atthe district storage centre, wererandomised by the District ElectionOfficer in the presence ofrepresentatives of political parties forallocation of EVMs to specificAssembly constituencies of thedistrict. Next, after the candidateswere finalised and the EVMs of aconstituency were prepared for pollsby the Returning Officer, the EVMswere once again randomised to decidethe actual polling stations within theAssembly constituency in which they

were to be used. The second stagerandomisation was done in thepresence of observers, candidates ortheir election agents to lendtransparency.

For the peaceful conduct ofelections, security forces weredeployed based on the assessment ofthe ground situation. The CentralPolice Forces (CPF) and State ArmedPolice (SAP), drawn from other states,were deployed during the elections.The CPF and SAP were used generallyfor safeguarding the polling stationsand for providing security to thevoters and poll personnel. Besides,these forces were also used forsecuring the strong rooms where theEVMs were stored as well as thecounting centres. Wherever it wasneeded, the CPF was deployed inadvance for area domination andother election-related duties. Theidentification of polling stationsrequiring static coverage by CPF invarious constituencies was made bythe district election machinery inconsultation with the ECI observers.

The Commission deployed observers

A SMOOTHSAILING

Elections were free and fair, thanks to thefoolproof arrangements made by theElection Commission

COVER STORY 2929

in adequate numbers to ensuresmooth conduct of elections. Theobservers were asked to keep a closewatch on every stage of the electoralprocess to ensure free and fairelections. Their names, addresses andtelephone numbers were publicised inlocal newspapers so that the publiccould approach them in case of agrievance.

Besides, the Commission alsodeployed micro-observers to observethe proceedings on the polling day atselective and critical polling stations.They were chosen from among theCentral government and PSU officials.The micro-observers were there toobserve the proceedings, right fromthe mock poll to the completion ofpolling and through the process ofsealing of EVMs and other documentsto ensure that all instructions arecomplied with by the polling partiesand agents.

These micro-observers were underthe supervision of the observers.They were asked to ensuresmoothness of the poll process andreport to the observers about anyvitiation of the poll proceedings.

The Commission kept a close watchon the conduct of the officials. Theofficials on election duty were deemedto be on deputation to the Commissionand were under its control,

supervision and discipline. TheCommission issued severalinstructions from time to time toensure impartiality by the officialsengaged in the conduct of elections.

The Commission had already giveninstructions, like no election-relatedofficial or police officer of the rank ofa sub-inspector and above, wouldcontinue in his home district. Besides,instructions were also issued that allelection-related officials, includingpolice officials, who have been postedfor three years in a district betransferred.

The Commission formed pollingparties randomly, through specialcomputerised application software.Three-stage randomisation wasadopted. First, from a wider districtdatabase of eligible officials, a shortlistof about 120 per cent of the requirednumbers was randomly made. Thisgroup was trained for polling duties. Inthe second stage, from this trainedmanpower, the actual polling partieswere formed by random selectionsoftware in the presence of the ECIobservers. In the third randomisation,the polling stations were allocatedrandomly, just before the pollingparty’s departure to the pollingstations. This ensured transparencyand impartiality in assigning pollduties to the polling parties.

All critical events were video-graphed to curb anti-social elements.The District Election Officersarranged sufficient video and digitalcameras and camera teams for thepurpose. The events for video-graphyincluded filing of nomination,scrutiny, allotment of symbols,preparation and storage of EVMs,and important public meetings andprocessions. Digital cameras werealso installed inside the boothswherever needed. People could buythe CDs of the video recordings.

According to Sajjan Singh,“Another aspect of the electionprocess was a unique communicationplan followed by the Commission.This included keeping the lines ofcommunication open throughout byusing landline, mobile and localPCOs, whose details were madeavailable from the respective pollingbooths to the Chief Electoral Officer.”The numbers were put intospecialised software by theCommission where on the click of abutton all the numbers were availableto the Commission regarding aparticular constituency. This ensuredthat the flow of information was notdelayed and where it warrantedprompt action, it was taken withoutdelay. This ensured that the pollswere free and fair. g

Sealing of EVMs under vigilant eyes


THE battle among the political parties in Haryana began and ended with much fanfare. All thecontenders tried their best to woo voters. Aggressive poll campaigning through partyhoardings, unique slogans and unparalleled promises kept the festive mood going among the

voters. The media has meticulously covered the campaigning, polling and the results of theAssembly polls in Haryana. Finally, Bhupinder Singh Hooda took the oath as the Chief Minister atthe Raj Bhawan on October 25.

Here is a wide array of opinions expressed by leading newspapers.

FIRST ROUND FOR HOODA

THERE was never any doubt that Haryana ChiefMinister Bhupinder Singh Hooda would win the

confidence vote in the Assembly hands down. Havingsecured the support of six Independents and with the six-member Haryana Janhit Party of Kuleep Bishnoi unwillingto join forces with Om Prakash Chautala’s INLD, it wasclear that the Congress would sail through. Interest wouldnow centre on how stable the Hooda government will be,considering that the HJC is still bargaining hard with theCongress and the latter along with the Independents add upto a razor-thin majority. Though Bishnoi has in some mediainterviews indicated his preference for the Congress, a lotwould depend on the kind of deal that is worked out

between the two parties. That he and his flock of MLAshave dashed to New Delhi, absenting themselves fromvoting in the Speaker’s election, the trust vote as well as theGovernor’s address, suggests that the real scene of actionwould be the national capital.

Now that it is confirmed in the saddle, the new Hoodagovernment would do well to concentrate on goodgovernance. While overall, the pace of development duringHooda’s first term was encouraging, there are certain greyareas where greater attention is required. Law and order,controlling prices, balanced regional growth, social reformsand education and preventing the so-called honour killingsby khap panchayats are some of the urgent tasks for thenew government.

SECOND INNINGS

AFTER the formation of the new government in Haryana,the Chief Minister is expected to look seriously into the

working of the old government to remove the weaknesses ofthe previous government. The vicinity to the National CapitalRegion has been benefiting Haryana in many ways. Many bigcompanies have set up shop here. Industry here is getting aboost, but like Punjab, even Haryana faces many difficulties.Among others, power is a major problem which affects theindustry and business. In a short span of time, Haryana hasmade valuable progress in making the basic amenities

available to the common man. The Hooda government hasbeen acknowledged for the development works it hasundertaken, but much work is yet to be done.

In the previous tenure, Hooda had given top priority todevelopment works than to vendetta politics. This policy ofthe Chief Minister has worked for him. It is expected of himthat he will follow the same policy this time. Today, manythings need to be done for giving people a better life. As ofnow, it is expected that Hooda will rise to the people'sexpectations.

HAT-TRICK OF TRIUMPHS

IN Haryana, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda didjust well enough to keep the Congress afloat. But, as

expected, the vote share and the number of seats camedown. Retaining power is always more difficult thanregaining it, and Hooda could not have been expected todeliver much more than he did.

In voter perception, the ruling coalition certainlyseemed to have had more on the credit side of thegovernance ledger. The Indian National Lok Dal of OmPrakash Chautala did narrow the gap, without any help

from its former ally, the BJP, but the Congress, with somesupport from others, has managed to get another term inoffice. In the smallest of the three states that went to thepolls, Arunachal Pradesh, the Congress won decisively witha majority of its own. In all the three, however, the realchallenge will be in meeting the rising expectations of thepeople. The Congress in the flush of its Lok Sabha victoryappeared to have taken the states for granted and whilethere is reason for satisfaction, there is no ground foreuphoria.

Winner at the end


TRIUMPH OF CONGRESS

Dominant share in all three Assembly polls

THE underlying message in the results of the stateAssembly elections in three states — Haryana,

Maharashtra and Arunachal Pradesh — is a perceptibleboost for the Congress and a significant setback for the BJP,which is a virtual repeat of the Lok Sabha elections earlierthis year. While the Congress triumph in Arunachal andMaharashtra is decisive, in Haryana it has beliedexpectations by ending up six short of a majority in a

House of 90. The surprise element in Haryana has been theimpressive showing of Om Prakash Chautala’s INLD whichhad won only nine seats in the 2005 elections but has thistime ended up with 32 (including one of the Akali Dal)against 40 of the Congress. Evidently, the Congress has hadto pay a price for infighting, as also for sustained price riseand a bad power situation. The party clearly failed tocapitalise on the inability of the opposition to forge analliance in an apparent show of misplaced over-confidence.

With elections now out of the way, it would be time forgovernment formation, and strategising.

SIX MONTHS IN HARYANA In May, the Congress swept; how October's resultchanges its politics?

WHILE no one, including Hooda, was expecting a re-runof the party's performance in the previous Assembly

elections or the recent Lok Sabha elections, the projectionswere for a comfortable victory. It was also expected that the

narrower the victory margin for the Congress, the greaterwas the possibility of the challengers mounting pressureon the high command. The seats projected for the Congresspost-election announcement fell, an indication that theINLD would gain, given the crowds Chautala was attractingat election rallies; but hardly anyone had expected him todo as well as he did.

ADVANTAGE CONGRESS

State election results reinforce party’s position

THE Congress has passed with flying colours its firstmajor test since its victory in this year’s general

elections. Following the first set of state Assembly pollssince the Lok Sabha elections held in April, the Congressand its allies are set to form the government in

Maharashtra and Arunachal Pradesh. It also has a clear advantage in Haryana.

The results have confirmed the upswing in the fortunesof the Congress. The victory of the Congress in Haryanawas a much more closely fought affair than last time. Whilethe overall result can be seen as thumbs up for the UPA-ledgovernment at the Centre, it may have had more to do withlocal factors.

HOODA’S CHALLENGE

Will have to take party along

IN the volatile politics of Haryana where chief ministershave traditionally had short tenures, Bhupinder Singh

Hooda can draw some comfort from the fact that he is the firstchief minister to have entered a second consecutive term. Butwith the Congress having failed to get a majority, Hooda is up

against a formidable challenge in holding on to his gaddi. Fornow, Hooda has skilfully managed the support of sevenIndependents while the Haryana Janhit Congress of KuldeepBishnoi with its six members is also gravitating towards theCongress. However, Hooda’s challenge has not ended with hisswearing-in. The Independents will all demand their pound offlesh and Bishnoi is already believed to be sending feelersoffering support with strings attached, spoken or otherwise.

NEXT, ASSEMBLY OF CROREPATIS

THE debate may still be open on whether it helps beingloaded with money during polls or not, but the fact is

the voters in Haryana have returned 65 crorepatis to the90-member Assembly. The outgoing House had 47.

According to the data analysed by the National ElectionWatch, a citizen group working for electoral reforms, amajority of the candidates in the fray were crorepatis — a

staggering 51 per cent. It also found that only 2.34 per centof the candidates with less than Rs 10 lakh of declaredassets managed to get elected; 44 per cent of those who wonhave Rs 10-crore and above assets.

Among those who make the crorepati list, 32 are fromthe Congress, 19 from the Indian National Lok Dal, 2 fromthe BJP and 12 others.

Compiled by Ruchi Sharma

COVER STORY32 HARYANA REVIEW, NOVEMBER 2009

R C Goyal, principal, Government College, Panchkula, says, “It was a violence-freeelection which shows that the voters have matured. In urban areas, crowds and rallieswere missing this time. Political parties should take out roadshows than rallies. A votershould make his own decision without getting influenced. The sensitive constituenciesreported no violence this time. As far as price rise is concerned, the state governmentcan only keep a check on blackmarketing but it cannot check prices."

Kamla, 35-year-old woman from Nada village, says, “All women in the villagemake sure that they cast their vote. We vote for the candidate about whom we areconvinced that he would address our problems. But after getting elected, theyusually go back on their promises. We hope the new government will make our life easier."

Arjun Singh, 80-year-old man from a village near Panchkula, says, “I did vote thistime and have been doing so since I got my voter’s ID card.

I vote for the person who knows the local issues and works for the development ofour village."

Rekha Channa, a BA second year student, says, “I voted for the first time. I did notwant to sit at home and enjoy the holiday.

I am happy that I made use of my franchise as it can make a difference.”

Mamta Jaglan of Kurukshetra says, “Though the Congress lost in our district, peoplehave reposed trust in it. I expect the government to focus on the overall development inall districts. I welcome the scheme initiated to give monthly stipend to the studentsbelonging to the Scheduled Castes, Backward Classes and those below poverty line. Theinitiative will encourage students to study hard. I hope the government takes more suchinitiatives and monitor their progress.”

Anil Dogra of Ambala City says, “The victory of the Congress, though less emphatic thistime, shows the people have faith in the Congress. The election manifesto of the Congresswas more realistic than the manifestos of the Opposition parties, which were mere miragesto attract the voters. During its last tenure, the Congress government had certain targets inmind and it tried to achieve them. I believe that in the coming years, the government willprovide financial help to the BPL families and employment to its youth.

Sounding boardHaryana Review spoke to a cross-section of people on whether they votedand their expectations from the government.


Amanpreet Singh, a second year student from Naraingarh, says, “I voted for thefirst time and it was a good experience.

I did not keep track of the campaigning but followed what was published in thenewspapers and voted accordingly.”

Om Prakash Sharma, a student from Morni, says, “We have to commute daily toget education in a Panchkula college. We expect the government to look into thetransportation woes of many like us.”

Ankita Dahiya of Sonepat says, “The new government will do better than the previousone because in its last term it had got a clear majority and was fearless; but this time, theCongress has lost its hold. Though the people have re-affirmed their faith in it, it is not anemphatic win. We, therefore, hope for a better performance from the government andexpect it to check the soaring prices.”

Lalit Seervi, an education consultant from Panchkula, says, “The fact that Hooda isback in power shows people have faith in his governance. It has brought an addedresponsibility on the Hooda government to live up to their expectations. Putting curbs onthe autocratic functioning of khap panchayats is a challenging task for the government.The government will last its term."

Pradeep Kumar of Raipurrani says, “I voted for the second time. It is my duty to votefor the candidate who does good work. I would rather vote than waste it becaue if weeducated people won't vote, how can we bring about a change in the system. As theCongress is back in power, the expectations have risen."

Devdutt Sharma from a village in Mahendergarh, says,“Whoever gets electedshould work for the development of the village. I want the youth should get goodeducation and employment. The new government should come up with schemes likeNREGA for the unemployed with an assurance to pay wages on time.”

Anil Kumar, a resident of Rohtak, says, "As a regular voter, I feel a candidate shouldbe local and not an outsider. I have voted for a candidate who is local and is aware ofthe grassroot-level problems."

Compiled by Ruchi Sharma


Pardeep Chaudhary

Party : INLDConstituency: Kalka Qualification :GraduatePolitical Career :Contested elections in1993, 1996 and 2005. Hehas become an MLA forthe first time.

Devender Kumar Bansal

Party: INCConstituency:PanchkulaQualification: LLBPolitical Career:Chief Legal Advisor ofPanchayati Raj Cell, HPCC,1988-1991. Has beenChairman of Legal Cell,

Congress Committee, Ambala Urban, since2002. Was also elected as an MLA in 2005.

Ram Kishan Gujjar

Party: INCConstituency:Naraingarh Qualification:Graduate Political Career:Vice-president, YouthCongress; secretary,Haryana Pradesh

Congress. Was elected as an MLA in 2005.Was appointed Parliamentary Secretary in2006 and looked after Irrigation, Power andCivil Aviation departments.

Anil Vij

Party: BJPConstituency:Ambala CanttQualification:BScPolitical Career:Was elected as an MLA in1990, 1996 and 2000.Fourth-time MLA.

Venod Kumar Sharma

Party: INCConstituency:Ambala City Qualification:GraduatePolitical Career:Member of Parliament;Union Minister of State;general secretary, Indian

Youth Congress; president, TerritorialCongress Committee. Was elected as an MLAin 2005. Second-time MLA.

Rajbir Singh Barara

Party: INLDConstituency:Mulana Qualification:MatriculationPolitical Career:Was member of ZilaParshad, 2000-2005. Alsowas president of the SC

Cell (INLD). First-time MLA. Rajpal

Party: INCConstituency:SadhauraQualification:Diploma in CivilEngineeringPolitical Career:Member of the BlockSamiti; joint secretary ofthe Congress. First-timeMLA.

Akram Khan

Party: BSP Constituency:Jagadhri Political Career:Was elected as an MLAin 1996. Second-timeMLA.

Dilbag Singh

Party: INLDConstituency:YamunanagarQualification:GraduatePolitical Career:Has been elected as anMLA for the first time.

Bishan Lal Saini

Party: INLDConstituency:Radaur Qualification: GAMS Political Career: Waselected as an MLA fromJagadhri in 2000. Alsocontested the Assemblyelections in 2005. Second-time MLA.

Sher Singh Barshami

Party INLDConstituency:Ladwa QualificationMA, LLBPolitical Career:Was the state president ofthe INLD; member ofHPSC; political advisor inthe Chautala government;

deputy leader of the legislature party. Hasbecome an MLA for the first time.

Anil Dhantori

Party: INCConstituency:Shahabad Qualification:BTechPolitical Career:Was secretary, HaryanaYouth Congress, 2004-06;general secretary,Haryana PradeshCongress, 2006-09.First-time MLA.

Ashok Kumar

Party: INLDConstituency:Thanesar Qualification:MatriculationPolitical Career:Was Speaker of theHaryana Assembly from1999 to 2000 andTransport minister from2000 to 2005.

Phool Singh

Party: INLDConstituency:Guhla Qualification10+2Political Career:Was district president ofthe SC Cell. First-time MLA.

Rampal Majra

Party: INLDConstituency:Kalayat Qualification:BA, LLB, BEDPolitical Career:Was elected an MLAin 1996; ChiefParliamentary Secretaryfrom 2000 to 2005.

12th Haryana Assembly:


Ashok Kashyap

Party: INLDConstituency:IndriQualification:MBBS.Political Career:Contested the 2005elections as an INLDcandidate. Also contestedthe 2004 and 2008by-elections. First-timeMLA.

Mamu Ram

Party: INLDConstituency:Nilokheri Qualification:Matricuation, JBTPolitical Career:First-time MLA.

Narender Sangwan

Party: INLDConstituency:GharaundaQualification: BAPolitical Career:Was District Youthpresident of INLD from2000 to 2009. Has becomean MLA for the firsttime.

Balbir Pal Shah

Party: INCConstituency:Panipat City Qualification:BScPolitical Career:Became MLA in 1987,

1991, 2000 and 2005. Healso was Transportminister. Fifth-time MLA.

Krishan Lal Panwar

Party: INLDConstituency:Israna Qualification:Matriculation, Diplomain Boiler Competency Political Career:Was elected as an MLA in1991, 1996 and 2000.Fourth-time MLA.

Zile Ram Sharma

Party: HJC (BL)Constituency:Assandh Qualification:MatriculationPolitical Career:Was sarpanch ofChochra village; districtpresident of HJC (BL).First-time MLA.

Kuldeep Sharma

Party: INCConstituency:GanaurQualification:BA, LLB.Political Career:President, DistrictCongress Committee,from 1997 to 2004;working president of

Haryana Pradesh Congress, 2007-09.Contested the parliamentary elections fromKurukshetra in 2008. First-time MLA.

Jai Tirath Dahiya

Party: INCConstituency:Rai Qualification:BA, LLBPolitical Career:Was organising secretary,Haryana Youth Congress,1985 to 1990; organising

secretary of Haryana Pradesh Congress,1990-2009. First-time MLA.

Dharm Singh

Party: HJC (BL)Constituency:Samalkha Qualification:10+2Political Career:First-time MLA.

Jagbir Singh Malik

Party: INCConstituency:Gohana Qualification:BSc, LLBPolitical Career:Was elected as an MLAin 1996 and again gotelected in the by-electionof 2008.

Krishan Hooda

Party: INCConstituency:Baroda Qualification:MatriculationPolitical Career:Was elected as an MLAin 1987, 1996 and 2005.Fourth-time MLA.

Kavita Jain

Party: BJPConstituency:Sonepat Qualification:MCom, BEdPolitical Career:First-time MLA.

Kali Ram Patwari

Party: INLDConstituency:Safidon Qualification:MatriculationPolitical Career:President of the KisanCell of the INLD; districtpresident and pressspokesperson of INLD.First-time MLA.

Hari Chand Middha

Party: INLDConstituency:Jind Qualification:MatriculationPolitical Career:First-time MLA.

Parminder Singh Dhull

Party: INLDConstituency:JulanaQualification:BA, LLBPolitical Career:Contested the Assemblyelections on fouroccasions. Has becomean MLA for the firsttime.

A short profile of its members


Om PrakashChautala

Party: INLD

Constituency:Uchana Kalan

Qualification:Matriculation

Political Career:Chief Ministerfrom December 2,

1989 to May 22, 1990; July 12, 1990 to July 16,1990; March 22, 1991 to April 5, 1991; July 24,1999 to March 2, 2000; and March 2, 2000 toFebruary 2005; Member, Rajya Sabha, 1987to 1990; became Leader of Opposition onMay 24, 1996 in the 9th Haryana Assembly.

Became president, Haryana State JanataDal; national general secretary, SamajwadiJanata Party; member of importantcommittees of Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha andHaryana Vidhan Sabha; president, HaryanaState Indian National Lok Dal.

Pirthi Singh

Party: INLD

Constituency:Narwana


Political Career:First-time MLA.

Gian Chand Ode

Party: INLD

Constituency:Ratia

Political Career:Was elected as an MLA in2005. Second-time MLA.

Charanjeet Singh

Party: SADConstituency:Kalanwali Qualification:MatriculationPolitical Career:Was sarpanch of hisvillage from 2000 to 2005.District councillor from2005 to 2009. First-timeMLA.

Ajay Singh Chautala

Party: INLD

Constituency:Dabwali

Qualification:MA, LLB

Political Career:Member of Rajya Sabha.Became MLA in 2009.

Krishan Kamboj

Party: INLD

Constituency:Rania

Qualification: BA


Kuldeep Bishnoi

Party: HJC (BL)Constituency:Adampur Qualification: BAPolitical Career:President of HJC (BL);has been an MLA fromAdampur. Was elected asan MP in the 2005 LokSabha elections fromBhiwani.

Naresh Selwal

Party: INC

Constituency:Uklana

Qualification:MA

Political Career:Was Block vice-presidentin 2004. First-time MLA.

Saroj Mor

Party: INLD

Constituency:Narnaund

Qualification:Graduate


Vinod Bhayana

Party: HJC (BL)Constituency:Hansi Qualification: BAPolitical Career:Was sarpanch of hisvillage twice. Electedmember of the Block

Samiti. Contested elections in 2000 and 2005from Hansi constituency. First-time MLA.

Ram Niwas Ghorela

Party: INC

Constituency:Barwala


Political Career:Was president of theCongress Backward Cell,Hisar. First-time MLA.

Savitri Jindal

Party: INC

Constituency:Hisar

Qualification:FA, Prabhakar, Social worker andeducationist.

Political Career:Was elected as an MLAin 2005 and becameminister. Second-timeMLA.

Sampat Singh

Party: INC

Constituency:Nalwa Qualification:MA, BEd

Political Career:Political secretary to CM from 1977 to 1979.Became MLA in 1982, 1987, 1991, 1998 and2000. Was minister of Industry, Excise andTaxation, Town and Country Planning,Home, Local Bodies, Jails, Public Relations,Irrigation and Power, Finance, andParliamentary Affairs and Planning in 1987.In 1999 and 2000, again was the minister forFinance, Parliamentary Affairs andPlanning. Has become an MLA for thesixth time.

Dharam Pal Obra

Party: INLD

Constituency:Loharu

Qualification:Matriculation, Prep,DEd.

Political Career:Block president from2004 to 2009; districtpresident in 2009.First-time MLA.


Satpal Sangwan

Party: HJC (BL)

Constituency:Dadri

Qualification:BSc

Political Career:Was elected as an MLAin 1996.

Raghbir Singh

Party: INLD

Constituency:Bhadra



Ghansyam Saraf

Party: BJP

Constituency:Bhiwani



Anand Singh Dangi,Party: INC

Constituency:Meham Qualification:GraduatePolitical Career:Was chairman, PanchyatSamiti, Meham;

chairman, SS Board, Haryana; former PWD(B&R) and Revenue Minister. Was elected asan MLA in 1991 and 2005. Third-time MLA.

Bharat Bhushan Batra

Party: INC

Constituency:Rohtak

Qualification:LLB.

Political Career:Was chairman of HPSC.First-time MLA.

Kiran Chaudhary

Party: INCConstituency:Tosham Qualification: BA,LLB.Political Career:General secretary, AllIndia Mahila Congress,1986; general secretaryand vice-president ofDPCC, 1999; has been amember of the AICC for

the last 15 years; was Deputy Speaker in theDelhi Assembly. Was the Minister of State forEnvironment, Forests, Sports and YouthAffairs and Tourism in the previousgovernment.

Naresh Kumar Pardhan

Party: INCConstituency:Badli


Political Career:Was elected as an MLA in2005. Second-time MLA.

Shakuntla

Party: INC

Constituency:Kalanaur

Qualification:10+2, Diploma in Nursing


Rajinder Singh Joon

Party: INC

Constituency:Bahadurgarh

Qualification: BA

Political Career:Was elected as an MLAin 2005. Second-timeMLA.

Narender Singh

Party: HJC (BL)

Constituency:Narnaul

Qualification:BA, LLB

Political Career:Was elected as an MLA in1996 and 2000. Third-timeMLA.

Rao Bahadur Singh

Party: INLDConstituency:Nangal ChaudhryQualification:Though he could notcomplete his schooling,he currently managesmany schools andcolleges.Political Career:First-time MLA.

Raghuvir SinghKadian

Party: INCConstituency:Beri Qualification:MSc, LLB, PhD Political Career:Became MLA in 1987,2000 and 2005. Was

minister from 1987 to 1990. Speaker ofHaryana Assembly from 2006 to 2009.

Rameshwar Dayal

Party: INLDConstituency:Bawal Qualification:MA, BEDPolitical Career:Contested elections in1987 and 1996. First-timeMLA.

Rao Yaduvender Singh

Party: INC

Constituency:Kosli

Political Career:Was elected as an MLAin 2005. Second-timeMLA.

Ganga Ram

Party: INLD

Constituency:Pataudi


Political Career:Contested elections onthe INLD in 2005.First-time MLA.

Compiled by Aparna Pawar


THE doodle performance by aClass IV student of Gurgaonwas featured on Google all day

on November 14. This is the first timethat a ‘made in India’ doodle wasfeatured on the popular search engine.

Beating 4,000 other competitors,Puru Pratap Singh’s doodle was basedon the theme ‘My India — Full of Life’.

A Google doodle is a creativeGoogle logo that appears on somespecial days, to commemoratescientific and artistic achievements,historic or seasonal events, and otherlocal occasions.

Encapsulating the rich diversity ofthe country in terms of the differentreligions practised here, highlightinglatest scientific feats and alsoshowcasing Mahatma Gandhi, Singh’swinning entry is a riot of colour ladenwith aesthetics and deep-seatedmeaning — exactly what Googledoodles are all about.

Explaining his doodle, Singh said:“India is a country, which has a blendof thousands of traditions, andreligions like Hinduism, Christianity,Sikhism and Islam. It has developed alot in the past few years. The discoveryof water on the moon by the Indianscientists is a proof of this fact.”

“The Indian culture is as vibrant asthe colours of the peacock. Kashmir,the crown of India, is as serene as thepeace bird and as pure as the lotus.We, the Indian citizens, are also tryingto fulfil Mahatma Gandhi’s dream of

educating each and every Indianchild,” he added.

In August this year, Google Indiadecided to unleash the creativity ofthousands of children in India with adoodling competition calledDoodle4Google.

Open to students from Classes I toX, the contest was judged by a panel ofjudges that comprised renownedcartoonist N Ponnappa, artist RaghavaK K and the faculty of the NationalInstitute of Design, Ahmedabad.

For over a decade, Google has beendesigning doodles for its homepageand Dennis Hwang — the masterdoodler — has been driving thisinnovation.

Besides having his doodle featuredon the Google homepage all day onChildren’s Day, Singh was alsoawarded a laptop, a T-shirt with hisdoodle and Rs 1 lakh technology grantfor his school. g

(Courtesy: The Hindu)

Gurgaon boy's doodle features on

Aftab Ahmed

Party: INCConstituency:Nuh Qualification:BCom, LLBPolitical Career:District president ofCongress, Mewat.First-time MLA.

Dharam Pal

Party: INCConstituency:Badshahpur Qualification:GraduatePolitical Career:Became an MLA in1987, 1991 and 2000.Fourth-time MLA.

Naseem Ahmed

Party: INLD

Constituency:Ferozepur Jhirka

Qualification:BA, LLB


Jagdish Nayar

Party: INLD

Constituency:Hodal

Political Career:Was elected as an MLAin 1996 and was also aminister.

Subhash Chaudhry

Party: INLDConstituency:Palwal Qualification:GraduatePolitical Career:Former chairman,Congress Sewa Dal,

Haryana. Was elected as an MLA in 1996 and2005. Third-time MLA.

Mohammed Ilyas

Party: INLDConstituency:Punahana Qualification: BAPolitical Career:Was elected as an MLA in1991 and 2000 and wasMinister of State forIrrigation and Power, andScience and Technology.Third-time MLA.

Krishan Pal

Party: BJPConstituency:Tigaon Qualification:BA, LLBPolitical Career:Was elected as an MLA in1996 and 2000. Became aCabinet minister in 1996.Third-time MLA.

Raghubir Singh

Party: INCConstituency:Prithla Qualification:10+2Political Career:Was sarpanch of Janolivillage for threeconsecutive terms (1983-88, 1988-91, 1991-94);member, BlockPanchayat Samiti, Palwal(1991-94). First-time MLA.

Anand Kaushik

Party: INCConstituency:Faridabad Political Career:Joint secretary, AllIndia Youth Congress;general secretary,Haryana Pradesh

Congress; member, All India CongressCommittee; chairman of Haryana LandReclamation and Development Corporation.First-time MLA.

Ruchi Sharma

IN a state with a dismal sex ratioand low literacy rate for women, itcame as a whiff of fresh air when

a woman assumed the highest officein bureaucracy. Fifty-seven-year-oldMs Urvashi Gulati is the third womanChief Secretary of Haryana.Incidentally, her elder sister, MsMeenakshi Anand Chaudhary, was thefirst woman chief secretary in 2005.

One of the three IAS officer sisters,Ms Gulati of the 1975 batch took overas the 27th Chief Secretary. Theadministration is expected to take anew direction with the kind ofexperience she brings with her.

Her husband, Mr Naresh Gulati, isFinancial Commissioner, Revenue,and younger sister, Ms Keshni AnandArora, is the Financial Commissionerand Principal Secretary, Tourism,Haryana. She is the seniormost IASofficer working in the state.

Talking about Ms Gulati, the proudfather of three IAS daughters,Prof J D Anand, says, “All my threedaughters have been my students.Urvashi had excelled in academicsand was a brilliant and hard-workingstudent. She is a social person and hasa pleasant personality. She iscompassionate and is dedicated to herwork. Besides, she is a devoted motherof two daughters. I think I am the

only father whose all three daughtersgot into the IAS in the first attemptand all of them served in the samecadre.”

Born in Ambala, Ms Gulati did hergraduation from Government Collegefor Girls, Chandigarh, andpostgraduation in political sciencefrom Panjab University, Chandigarh.She was appointed lecturer at PanjabUniversity and later joined the civilservices.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Before taking over as Chief Secretary,Ms Gulati was FinancialCommissioner and PrincipalSecretary, Rural Development andPanchayats. During her tenure,Haryana successfully implemented theNirmal Gram Puraskar Scheme whichimproved sanitation in villages. It wonthe Haryana government recognitionfrom the United Nations DevelopmentProgramme (UNDP), an award fromthe President and an entry in theLimca Book of Records.

As Chief Secretary, Ms Gulati willlook after the General Administration,Personnel, Training, Vigilance,Parliamentary Affairs andAdministrative Reforms and will beSecretary In-charge of PlanCoordination and FinancialCommissioner and PrincipalSecretary.

ACHIEVEMENTS

In her achievements, her conceptionof an innovative scheme of deliveryhuts for safe delivery needs specialmention. The scheme has also beenadjudged as a good practice by theUNDP and the Planning Commission.

Her career began as Sub-Divisional Officer at Palwal. AsAdditional Deputy Commissioner ofGurgaon, she showed a deepengrossment in rural developmentand poverty alleviation programmes.She had been a significantcontributor to urban development asAdministrator, HUDA, Faridabad andGurgaon. She also held a number ofassignments in the corporate sector.

Ms Gulati served as Secretary tothe Governor of Haryana for sevenyears. She has been involved in thedevelopment of Kurukshetra as aheritage centre. The ElectionCommission had nominated her asInternational Observer to Sri Lankaduring the General ParliamentaryElections in 2001.

Ms Gulati has undertaken variousforeign trips to attend seminars onsocial and developmental issues. In1993, she attended a workshop onrural development in the UK. Shealso successfully negotiated with theWorld Bank a loan for the highways. g

Ms Urvashi Gulati is the third woman Chief Secretary of Haryana

At the helm of bureaucracyOutgoing Chief SecretaryMr Dharamvir hands overthe charge to Ms Gulati

40 HARYANA REVIEW, NOVEMBER 2009PHOTO FEATURE

Eager to make a difference

Guiding the youth Initiation into democracy

Age no bar

Hues ofdemocracySuch scenes were witnessed as Haryanawent to polls on October 13

HARYANA REVIEW, NOVEMBER 2009 41PHOTO FEATURE

PULLING CROWDS: Punjabi singer GurdasMann performs at an election rally

Early lessons in democracy

42 HARYANA REVIEW, NOVEMBER 2009ART AND CULTURE

Hirday Kaushal

THE artist doesn’t live in an ivorytower, sitting by the magiccasement, counting the waves of

the sea flowing nearby. He lives insociety, is a part of society -- societywhich is co-extensive with humanityitself. Willy-nilly, he has to addressconcerns affecting humanity. A fewexamples from the world of art, ancientand modern, would throw light on this.

The Greek sculptures of old weresecond to none, they are so even todayin the unique depiction of human body,especially the male body.

A titan, namely Prometheus, sculptedout of stone, chained to a rock andtortured by Zeus, (this being donebecause of the theft of fire committedby Prometheus from heaven for humanbenefit). How is Prometheus depicted --muscular body, nerves of steel, headheld aloft, slight turn of it to the right,both arms outstretched. So portrayed,Prometheus is not a gymnast, not awrestler, not an ordinary man. He isgiant of a man whose every fibre of thebody pulsates with primitive yetmodern spirit of defiance. Blows may berained by the enraged Zeus but the manand his spirit are unbent and unshaken.The picture looks far beyond the ageand confines of the country to which itbelongs – it universalises that whichman has to undergo in the service ofman.

Unmistakably, the significance of thestatue dawns upon the mind almost in aflash; it delves deep into the heart andremains, in a manner of speaking, avision to return to the man who hasradiance of sublimity, all his own.

I now pass from a mythical figurealmost deified in ancient Greek art forthe glorification of man’s spirit to amodern romantic poet, namely, P BShelley. I refer to his Ode to the WestWind. The work is of the wind’s terrificpower and speed and the consequentturbulence it creates on the land, on thesea and in the sky, that appeals toShelley’s soul. Hence his supplicationfor help. Being a frail human being, hiscall for help is very much in place.

I fall upon the thorns of life, I weep, Ibleed.

At the same time, Shelley is fullyaware of his indomitable will and thepower of thought as unassailable as thatof the west wind.

What lifemeans to artWhat lifemeans to art

ART AND CULTURE 43HARYANA REVIEW, NOVEMBER 2009 43

Scatter my thoughts O wind, far andwide so that they may lie like embersbeneath the earth to burst into flames oneday.

Revolt against the existingdispensation fraught with all sorts ofinjustices and inequities is the hallmarkof his poetry. The world must change,and change it shall, a thought felt byShelley with as much intensity ofpassion as one would feel love. Thisexperience Shelley transmutates intopoetry.

The ode sounds an optimistic notewhen Shelley says:

If winter comes, can spring be farbehind?

It may be dark throughout the tunnelbut there is definitely light at the otherend. I wonder if anybody would agreewith the criticism when a reputed criticsaid: “Shelley is simply beating hiswings in the void.” No, it is neither voidnor vacuum; it is a world invitingly laidafresh for us to partake of what suitsour stomach most. The choice is ours:take things lying down or raise thebanner of revolt.

To change the sorry scheme of thingsentire,

And remould it nearer to our heart’sdesire.

Speaking of nearer home, I feel Imust refer to Tulsi Das’ Ramayana. Averitable storehouse of wisdom,edifying values, deep insight intohuman nature, heroic battles; in short,

one wonders what is not there in it? It isa masterpiece.

Ram, the hero of the epic, towersabove all for his qualities of head andheart. To choose one incident, at theinstance of Kaikeyee, King Dashrathexiles Ram for 14 years, and Ram’sreaction is simply remarkable. Noresentment, no anger, simply devotionto duty is the watchword; Sitaaccompanies him as a matter of duty;Lakshman, too, follows suit. Bharat isnot there but later he brings Ram’ssandals and refuses to rule - he isdevoted to Ram after all. These relationsare sweetened by the mellifluous voiceof Tulsi Das. To comment on hisachievement, it will be holding a candleto the sun.

All I can contend myself with is thatwe read the Ramayana each morning.Assuredly, it will be an enrichingexperience and edifying too, for thevalues enshrined in it will surely maketheir way into your heart.

To conclude, it is but appropriate toadd a word on the role of art in the lifeof man and his rejuvenation. Who candeny that it makes man aware of hispotential self and the environment helives in? The two interact, and hisinteraction helps foster judgment anddiscrimination between good and bad,right and wrong, truth and falsehood inrelation to humanity at large. Whenplaced in this context, the human aspectof art is clearly seen and sharplydefined. The world is demonstrablyturning global -- in such a world, therelevance of art cannot be over-emphasised. g

The writer is Art Officer (Sculpture),DIPR, Haryana

‘Art makesman aware ofhis potentialself and the

environmenthe lives in.’

Sculpting images

44 HARYANA REVIEW, NOVEMBER 2009SPORTS

Saurabh Duggal

IN the Beijing Olympics, Bhiwanipugilist Vijender Singh gave Indiaa moment of glory by winning the

bronze medal – the first for thecountry in the sport. A year later, hisvictory juggernaut rolled on as hegave another moment of pride to thenation by winning the country’s first-ever medal in the worldchampionship. He won bronze atthe meet held in Milan, Italy, onSeptember 10.

Two weeks later, another Haryanasportsperson, Ramesh Kumar Gulia,who couldn’t make it to the BeijingOlympics because of ill health,added another glorious chapter tothe country’s sporting history byclinching the bronze in the worldchampionship in Denmark onSeptember 23.

Ramesh, a former junior worldwrestling champion from Sonepat,won the world championship medalfor the country in the men’s sectionafter a gap of 42 years.

Vijender and Ramesh - the worldbronze medallists - have proved thatHaryana is not only a dominant forcein the country’s boxing and wrestlingscenario, but its boxers and wrestlersare quite capable of making it to thepodium in world arena too.

In August last year, Vijender hadmade history by becoming the first-ever boxer to clinch an Olympicmedal. Almost a year later, the gutsyboxer has added another first to theIndian boxing – winning the bronzein the world championship in Milan.

The 24-year-old boxer outclassedUkrainian Derevyanch Sergly 12-4 inthe quarterfinal to book his medal.

A DSP in Haryana Police, Vijender,who was playing in his third worldchampionship, came out with hisbest-ever performance in the meet,

also the best by an Indian. “Last year, in the Beijing

Olympics, we stamped our authorityby winning the bronze medal andafter that the attitude of worldpowerhouses of the sport towards ushas changed completely. They havestarted taking us seriously and nowthe medal in the world championshipwill get more respect for the Indianboxing,” says Vijender.

Vijender got bye in the first round.In the second, he beat BelgibayevAzamat of Kazakhstan 14-8 anddefeated Rolls Steve of Canada 4-2 inthe pre-qaurterfinal. He confirmedhis medal by getting better ofDerevyanch Sergly of Ukraine 12-4 inthe quarterfinal. He lost thesemifinal bout to Atoev Abbos of Uzbekistan.

EVERY MEDAL IN HIS KITTY After winning bronze in the worldchampionship, Vijender has enteredthe club of select players, who havegot every Games and Championshipmedal in their kitty.

Vijender won the silver in theCommonwealth Games in Melbournein 2006 and in the same year, he won

the bronze in the Doha AsianGames. He had also won a medal inthe SAF Games (2006), Afro-AsianGames (2003) and Olympics (2008).In the championships, he wonmedal in the Asian,Commonwealth and Worldchampionships.

BROTHER INITIATED HIMINTO BOXING

Vijender’s elder brother,Manoj, initiated him into the

sport. Manoj, himself a formernational-level boxer, introducedVijender to the sport. “I used to takehim along to the boxing centre inBhiwani and gradually he startedliking the sport, and the rest ishistory,” says Manoj. “When Vijenderwon his first medal at the nationals,he set a target of winning anOlympic medal and he has achievedit. After the Olympics, he eyed theworld championship medal and I amhappy that he has achieved that too.”

‘WANT TO SEE BOXING GROWLIKE CRICKET’

“Winning a medal for the country isthe biggest satisfaction asportsperson can get and if it comesat the international level, nothinglike it. Now I want to see boxing growlike cricket in the country and boxershog the limelight. Hopefully, with thestart of the World Boxing Series bynext year and Delhi being one of theteams, it will get its due,” saysVijender.

Cornering gloryOlympic medallist Vijender shines again in the world arena; Sonepat'swrestler Ramesh Kumar Gulia wins bronze in world meet

VIJENDER SINGH

HARYANA REVIEW, NOVEMBER 2009 45SPORTS

‘INDIAN BOXERS SECONDTO NONE’

“Indian boxers are second to none. Soif a Cuban or Russian can be confidentof winning medals, why not we? Thesuccess in Beijing has given meimmense self-belief and because ofthat I was confident of making it tothe podium finish in the worldchampionship. Even Dinesh had awonderful outing. He made it to thequarterfinal on his debut in the world

championship and it is a bigachievement.”

PROVED CRITICS WRONG

After the Olympics, Vijender skippedthe World Cup, which drew a lot ofcriticism. It was said that he was moreinterested in enjoying the medal ratherthan moving ahead in the sport. But theboxer proved everyone wrong bywinning the bronze in the worldchampionship. “I have repeatedly saidthat boxing is my first love. It's my

passion and my identity is only becauseof the sport. I skipped the World Cupbecause I had my own schedule and wasworking according to it; the results tellthe story. If people have startedaccepting cricketers playing for thecountry and simultaneously appearingin commercial advertisements andtelevision shows, why not boxers? Theboxers have proved their worth again,so I think the people’s perspectivetowards the sport and sportspersonswill change,” says Vijender.

THE 27-year-old wrestler fromPurkhas village, famous forproducing international

wrestlers in Sonepat district, added hisname in the annals of the country’ssporting history by winning the bronzein the 74 kg weight category (freestyle)at the world championship inDenmark.

Ramesh, who was put on the mat byhealth issues after early successes,finally came out of the rough patchwith his success at the world meet.

After clinching both the cadet andjunior world titles in 1997 and 2001,respectively, the Haryana wrestler wasseen as a medal hope in the AthensOlympics. But during his gold medal-winning feat in the ManchesterCommonwealth Games-2002, he got hisknee ligament torn and remained outof action for a year. He even had toundergo a knee operation. In theAthens Games, he finished eighth.

“That was really a tough time forme. After winning the junior world titleand clinching gold in the 2002Commonwealth Games, I was expectinga medal in Athens. But an injury haltedmy momentum,” says Ramesh, whowas bestowed with the Arjuna Awardin 2002. Subsequently, he did win a fewinternational medals, but none at amajor event.

The year 2008 was again not good forRamesh. He failed to qualify for theBeijing Olympics after he skipped aqualifier for health reasons and lostanother because of alleged badumpiring.

But 2009 proved to be good for him.He won bronze in the AsianChampionship and was placed third inthe German Grand Prix. The youngestwrestler to have won the Arjuna awardknew his abilities, and remaineddetermined to win a medal on theworld stage.

WRESTLER BREAKS JINX Ramesh broke the 42-year-old hoodooby winning the bronze at the worldchampionship.

The unassuming grappler may nothave bettered Vishambhar Singh’ssilver-medal winning feat of 1967, buthis victory over Alexandr Burca ofMoldova in the 74 kg category ensuredhe didn’t return empty-handed.

Ramesh defeated Burca ontechnical points after the repechageround ended with both the wrestlerstied 7-7.

In the first round, Ramesh wastrailing 0-3. In the next round, hecame back strongly at 2-3. In the thirdand final round, he picked five pointsas against the four scored by hisopponent.

Earlier in the opening bout,Ramesh defeated America’s DustinSchlatter 3-2. In the pre-quarterfinal,he beat England’s Michael Grundy 4-2and then prevailed over Kiril Terzievof Bulgaria 7-4 in the quarterfinal.

He lost the semifinal bout toChamsulvara Chamsulvarayev of

Azerbaijan 0-5 and set up a repechageencounter against Burca.

‘LUCKY MASCOT’

A son of a farmer, Kumar considershis better half as his ‘lucky mascot’and attributes his success on the ringto his wife.

“Sonu is my lucky mascot. She isthe motivating factor and does notallow me to skip training,” saysRamesh. Except in Poland, Rameshhas won medals in every competitionsince his marriage to Sonu lastDecember.

“I was worried that after marriageit might be difficult for me to continuethe sport with the same commitment.But Sonu never stopped me fromwrestling; rather she motivates meand has even passed the standingorder that I am not welcome home if Iskip my training,” says Ramesh.

A HUMBLE MAN

The Gulzar Akhara at Zirakpur hadinvited a few well-knownsportspersons for the Wrestling GoldCup in April this year. While most ofthe players skipped the event,Ramesh, despite running high fever,made sure he was present. “They haveinvited me with so much of affectionthat I couldn’t give it a miss,” saysRamesh.

STORY BEHIND LONG HAIR

Broken ears are a normal thing withthe wrestlers and Ramesh, too, has abroken ear. But Ramesh doesn’t likehis appearance with the broken earand sports long hair which covers hisears. “I don’t like the broken ear andonce my career is over, I will go forplastic surgery,” says Ramesh. g

The writer is Senior Sports Writerwith Hindustan Times, Chandigarh

RAMESH KUMAR GULIA

FOCUS HARYANA REVIEW, NOVEMBER 200946

Nishant Prabhakar

MOST of us fondly rememberthe childhood and the timeswhen it rained. We as

children ran outside to collectrainwater in buckets and even cycledthrough the muddy water. Even whenit didn’t rain, we enjoyed sprinklingwater in the garden and gettingdrenched in it. At the time ofirrigating the fields, to feel thegushing water from the tubewell andbathing in it was a joyous experience.However, at that time, we thoughtwater was so abundant it would neverbecome scarce. But today, the realityis otherwise.

When the summer approaches, thenewspapers are full of reports that soand so area is facing acute watershortage. There are directives fromthe administration to ban carwashing, watering the gardens andirrigating fields during the day.Even the report of the CentralGroundwater Board indicates thatthe exploitive use of tubewells isdepleting the substratum wateraquifers in Haryana at an averagerate of 30 to 40 cm per year. The rateof decline in water table is alarmingin Gurgaon, which is about two metreevery year since 2006. At this rate,the city may dry up its water sourcesby 2017.

Similarly, the recent report of theNASA satellite data showing thegroundwater level in northern Indiadepleting by as much as a foot a yearover the past decade, is a matter ofconcern. According to NASAhydrologist Matthew Rodell, thewater table is declining at the rate ofa foot per year averaged over theIndian states of Rajasthan, Punjaband Haryana, including the nationalcapital territory of Delhi, an area innorth-western India that covers morethan 4.38 lakh square kilometres.

The writing is on the wall. Indiafaces a turbulent water future andwater is fast becoming a scarceresource. Drought is a reality in ruralareas, and water scarcity a part ofurban life. This is the result ofreckless use of water resources andabandoning the traditional system ofwater harvesting after piped waterreached village households. What weneed is to develop the concept ofwater security which, in turn, willensure food and energy security and

become essential bedrock ofdevelopment and poverty alleviation.After decades, we can now talk offood surplus and hence food security,but all will be lost if we face a watercrisis. Besides, the poor monsoon thisseason and the resultant droughtsituation calls for sustained policyfocus on the water economy andrainwater harvesting.

Hence to ensure water security, weneed to go back to the basics andpursue policies where the communityis actively involved in promoting and

following rainwater harvesting. Butwhat is rainwater harvesting? It isallowing water to seep into theground rather than letting it flow onthe ground. Due to tarred roads andconcrete structures, water instead ofdraining into the earth andrecharging aquifers, flows intostorm-water drains and is wasted.

The structures being constructedfor recharging groundwater includesub-strata dykes, inverted tubewells,ponds and tanks with shafts, earthendams, check-dams and dug wells.

Water is precious

Water gushes out of the newly-constructedearthen dam at Nada village

Nov 2002-08Equivalent Height Anomaly

-12 18 -4 0 4 8 12

Water is fast becomingscarce. Let's resolve tosave it.

FOCUS 47HARYANA REVIEW, NOVEMBER 2009

In urban areas, there is rooftoprainwater harvesting, in which wateris collected from the roof anddirected into the ground through apipe where it is stored in a reservoir.Rooftop rainwater harvesting is thesolution for water problems wherethere is inadequate groundwatersupply or surface resources areabsent or insignificant. Rainwater issoft water and free from bacteria andother organic matter. Rainwater alsohelps dilute groundwater that may besaline or high in nitrates and

fluorides. Rooftop rainwater can be used to

recharge groundwater through theuse of abandoned dug wells,abandoned or running hand pumps,recharge pits and recharge shafts.Before using a dug well as a rechargestructure, its base should be cleanedand all deposits removed. Dug wellsare recommended for buildings thathave a roof area of 1,000 sq m. If abuilding has a roof area of just 100 sqm, the recharge structure would be apit. For a building with a roof area of200 to 300 sq m, the rechargestructure is a trench - 0.5 to a metrewide, 1 to 1.5 m deep and 10 to 20 mlong, depending on the availability ofland.

The Centre for Science andEnvironment maintains that everyvillage in India can meet its basicdrinking water and cooking needsthrough water harvesting. It takesjust 100 millilitres to cultivate 1.2hectares of land. For this, besidesfollowing rooftop rainwaterharvesting, water harvesting throughbuilding check dams and earthendams on rivulets, and roadside dykescan be pursued.

For example, near Nada village inPanchkula district, the forestdepartment has constructed nineearthen dams having a capacity toirrigate 450 hectares of land in thefoothills of Shivaliks. Prior to 1980s,Nada village faced acute waterdistress. The water table was lowerthan 1,000 ft and the hills weredegraded. But today, Kashmir Singh,a villager, says, “The water table hasincreased to 410 ft and thesurrounding forests have becomegreener. There is availability ofwater almost throughout the year inthe adjoining rivulet of Nadavillage.”

According to the ForestDepartment, they have built about200 earthen dams in the Shivalik beltof Haryana and have sent proposalsto replicate the success of these damsin the Aravali range area of southernHaryana. The Haryana government ispursuing rainwater harvestingstrategy with diligence. In 2005, theagriculture department introduced apilot scheme, Accelerated Rechargeto Groundwater, with the objectivesof harvesting rainwater andrecharging groundwater throughrecharge wells. Under this, the

department has been installingrainwater harvesting equipment inall government buildings at theirexpense. The first to be targeted weresmall government schools in villageswhich had to shut down during therainy season on account of water-logging.

Further, the Haryana UrbanDevelopment Authority has made itmandatory to have rainwaterharvesting systems in residentialareas as well. Installing the system isnow mandatory for houses with aroof area of 100 sq m, that is 14 marlaand above. Till the end of the year2008-09, 347 rainwater harvestingstructures were constructed, and atarget of constructing 200 more suchstructures in 2009-10 has been set.

In Mewat district in southernHaryana, the Mewat DevelopmentAgency in collaboration with the SMSehgal Foundation, is doing acommendable job on waterconservation and water harvestingthrough building ponds and checkdams. They have constructed checkdams at Kotla, Santhawari,Bhondand, Rangala and Rajpurvillages falling in the Aravali hillzone. The village ponds of Jalalpurand Ghagas are being made modelponds for multipurpose use byvillagers with plantation all aroundthe pond. The Mewat DevelopmentAgency (MDA) has taken such worksin the foothills of the Aravalis. TheCentre has given Rs 2.8 crore to theMDA under the integrated wastelanddevelopment programme.

There is indeed a silver lining inthe dark clouds of water scarcity. Buta major effort has to come from thepublic at large. No scheme ofrainwater harvesting can be madesuccessful unless there is activeparticitpation of the communitiesconcerned. There is also need for achange in the attitude of thegovernment where it should considergiving control of water supply andusage to the panchayats instead ofdepending on the public healthdepartment. This is important asunless people feel they ownsomething, they don’t take interest init. It is high time we all took a pledgeto use water judiciously and refrainfrom wasting it. This is because wecertainly don’t want to give a parchedland with water scarcity as a gift tofuture generations. g

A graphic view of rooftopwater harvesting from

a building

NASA's Grace satellites measuredthe depletion of groundwater in

northwestern India between2002 and 2008. Image credit:

NASA/Trent Schindler and Matt Rodell

HISTORY HARYANA REVIEW, NOVEMBER 200948

Dr Suraj Bhan

HARYANA happens to be one ofthe best investigated regions inproto-historic archaeology of

India. As a result, a fairly securesequence of cultures has beenreconstructed from 3000 BC to 400 BC.However, more attention is needed onthe scientific understanding of the lifeconditions, contradictions and conflictsobtained in different socio-economicperiods and the process of theirchange. We need to explain the socio-cultural development in proto-historicHaryana through the process ofdiffusion of cultures in the region.

Haryana region constitutes thesouth-eastern part of the Sutlej-Yamuna Divide in the Indo-Gangeticplain. Geologically speaking, much ofthe plain is of recent origin and itssurface has been built up by the siltingaction of its streams and windactivities. The Divide is bordered onthe north by the Shivaliks and on thesouth by the Aravalis. The region is asemi-arid monsoon zone drained by anumber of seasonal streams.

The major drainage of the regionfollows the pattern of the seasonalGhaggar river which is believed to haveshrunk considerably. An insignificantstream called Sarusti (a corrupt formof ancient Saraswati) originates in thesub-mountainous Yamunanagardistrict, below the Shivaliks and joinsthe Ghaggar near Satrana in Patialadistrict, passing by Thanesar andPehowa. Attempts have been made byarchaeologists to explain away the widedried-up bed of the Ghaggar in thesandy tract of Rajasthan byconjecturing the Sutlej and Yamuna tohave constituted its tributaries beforethe end of the 3rd millennium BC. It isbased on satellite survey imagery andlacks any geological proof. The Sarustias well as the Ghaggar are post-

Shivalik seasonal rivers. The dried-upand ill-preserved course of theChautang is located in the south of theSaraswati and drains central Haryana,passing by Jind, Hansi and Hisarbefore it joins the Ghaggar nearSuratgarh in Rajasthan. Despite itsproximity to the Shivaliks andAravalis, the region is deficient inmineral resources. Perhaps gold waswashed from the sands of the nalas inthe Shivaliks and copper extractedfrom the Khetri mines in Rajasthan inproto-historic times.

The archaeological activities beganin the region in the latter half of the19th century when Sir AlexanderCunningham carried out explorationsat Thanesar and Sugh and identifiedthese ruins with the important ancientcities of Sthaneshvara and Srughna.But the full archaeological potential ofthe region could not be assessed in theabsence of scientific techniques andthe interest of explorers being limitedto the historical eras. The possibility ofcolonisation of the region in the proto-historic era could be appreciated onlywhen in 1950s, Y D Sharma discoveredRopar in the Sutlej Valley in Punjaband A Ghosh found Sothi andKalibangan in the Ghaggar Valley. Thediscovery of the painted grey colouredpottery known to archaeologists as thePGW at Kurukshetra, Pehowa, Panipatand Amin hinted at the importance ofthe region.

I initiated a systematic survey ofproto-historic sites in Haryana when Ijoined the Panjab University in 1962and pursued it later at the KurukshetraUniversity. As a result, more than twohundred sites were plotted on the map,ranging from the pre-Harappan to thePainted Grey Ware periods. Theimportant sites discovered includedBanawali, Rakhi Garhi, Mitathal,Siswal, Farmana, Daulatpur and Balu.I carried out vertical excavations at

Sugh, Mitathal, Siswal and sectionscrapping at Rakhi Garhi. An almostcontinuous regional sequence of proto-historic cultures was thusreconstructed, ranging from Sothi-Siswal through Harappan, Post-Harappan and Painted Grey Ware(PGW) cultures down to the earlyhistoric Northern Black Polished Ware(NBPW) culture.

An important addition to ourknowledge of the region has been maderecently by the discoveries of the agro-pastoral cultures at Kunal, excavatedby J S Khatri and M Acharya, atBhirrana, excavated by L S Rao, and atGiravada, excavated by V Shinde.

The explorations by the researchersand scholars of the Panjab,Kurukshetra and Maharishi DayanandUniversities have enlarged our list ofproto-historic sites in Haryana to about1,800. A brief summary of the sequenceof cultures reconstructed in the regionis given below:Period I. Sothi-Siswal culture: 248 sitesA. Kunal culture: 5 sites B. Early Siswal culture: 240 sitesC. Kalibangan culture: 3 sites II. Harappan Civilisation: 200 sitesIII. Post-Harappan culture: 940 sitesIV. Painted Grey Ware culture: 405 sites V. Northern Black Polished Ware Civilisation: 15 towns.

SOTHI-SISWAL CULTURE

Haryana was for the first timeinhabited by agro-pastoral clans whoused copper and stone tools. They livedin circular pits dug in the ground ingroups of families as attested in theexcavations at Kunal and Bhirrana inthe Ghaggar Valley and Giravada in theChautang Valley. In the next phase,Bhirrana has structures above theground. They include a circular hutwith a rammed floor and a chullahnearby. They used pots made on slow

A peep into Haryana’shoary past

A peep into Haryana’shoary past

A lowdown on the proto-historic period

HISTORY 49HARYANA REVIEW, NOVEMBER 2009

wheel, which included ill-fired vasesand bowls.

HARAPPAN COLONISATION

The Harappans entered Haryana alongthe Ghaggar and Chautang. TheSaraswati Valley, a tributary of theGhaggar, was, however, not inhabited inthis period too. The Harappa period ismarked by the establishment of citiesand towns in Haryana. Rakhi Garhi, thelargest settlement in the ChautangValley, is located in the centre of smallertowns like Mitathal, Balu and Farmana.Banawali, Bhirrana and Kunal are theother Harappan towns located in theGhaggar Valley near Fatehabad. Thetowns of Haryana lack the prosperity ofthe classical Harappan sites eventhough the characteristic pattern ofcitadel and lower town, size of bricks,seals, script, art forms and pottery styleare common. The reasons for thedisparity in the cultural richness seemto lie in the nature of the semi-arid tractof our region, away from the perennialrivers and the sea and the lack ofmineral resources.

HARAPPAN CULTURE PRE-RIG VEDIC

B B Lal is of the view that the authorsof the Harappan Civilisation were theRig Vedic Aryans. He has asserted thatthe geography of the HarappanCivilisation tallies with the Rig Vedicregion as both had common rituals,customs, caste system and use of horse.

However, Lal’s contention does nothold good for the following reasons:1. The Harappan settlements are not

found in the Kabul, Swat, Gomal andJhelum Valleys of the Gandhararegion and in the Saraswati,Markanda and Yamuna Valleys,which comprised the main parts ofthe Rig Vedic region.

2. The chronology of the IndusCivilisation is well settled between2500 BC and 2000 BC whereas the Rig

Veda is dated between 1500 BC and1000 BC.

3. The character of the Harappanculture was class-based, state-basedand urban with typical settlementpattern, drainage system, granaries,wells, art of writing, worship ofMother Goddess and the custom ofburying the dead. But the Rig Vedicpeople were agro-pastoral tribes withtheir peculiar rituals, including horsesacrifice and cremation of the dead.

POST-HARAPPAN FORMATION

The post-Harappan formations aredistinguished by the emergence of theLate Harappan culture in the Saraswati,Chautang and Yamuna Valleys andOchre-Coloured Pottery (OCP) culturerelated to surviving the Sothi-Siswaltradition in the Aravalis and sandy zoneof Haryana. The Harappan cities andtowns disappeared but the number ofrural settlements increased fourfold as aconsequence of desertion anddisplacement of the Harappan townsand the growth of population.

LATE HARAPPAN CULTURE TOONON-RIG VEDIC

Recently, M K Dhavalikar, whiledisagreeing with B B Lal, has attemptedto identify the Late Harappan culturewith the Rig Vedic Aryans. He hasargued:1. The Rig Vedic culture was horse-

centered and horse was introduced insouth Asia only after 2000 BC.Furthermore, the Rig Veda did notknow iron. Hence it should be dated topre-Iron Age. Iron, according to him,was introduced in India around 1500BC. Hence he placed the Rig Vedabetween 2000 BC and 1500 BC.

2. The late Harappan sites recentlyexcavated by the archaeologists haveevidenced Rig Vedic features such ashorse, altar, sacrificial pits, village lifeand a society divided into varnas.

Dhavalikar’s hypothesis is also not tenable. The scholar has forgotten totake note of the following facts:1. The collapse of the Harappa state

and cities around 1900-1800 BCcoincided with the advent of a newwave of migration represented bythe Gandhara Grave, Gumla andPirak cultures in the upper IndusValley and northern parts ofwestern Punjab. These movementsfor the first time introduced horse,horse sacrifice, Bactrian camel andthe Gandhara Grey Ware pottery.

2. The chronology of iron is not asettled fact in Indian archaeology.The pushing back of the date of ironto 1500 BC is not based on soundstudy of stratigraphy.

3. The association of a few horseremains with the Late Harappanculture alone cannot prove the LateHarappan identity with the VedicAryans. The horse could bepurchased or received as a gift fromthe newcomers.

MIGRATION OF PGW TRIBES

The PGW culture which succeeded thePost-Harappans seems to havefollowed the Ghaggar for entering intothe Saraswati-Markanda and YamunaValleys as their settlements are foundmainly concentrated in the traditionalKurukshetra region and the YamunaValley. J P Joshi has dated it between1200 and 600 BC.

The PGW people lived in clusters ofround or rectangular huts of wattleand daub in hamlets. A unique featureof their dwellings is noticed at Hatnear Safidon where they lived inround pits protected by V-shapedditch. Horse remains have beenrecovered from the PGW sites alongwith iron artefacts. g

The writer is a noted educationistand former professor of history,Kurukshetra University

FEATURE HARYANA REVIEW, NOVEMBER 200950

Dev Brat Vashisht

ACCORDING to historians, thehamlet of Naurangabad,located nine kilometres from

Bhiwani on Rohtak road, was aflourishing town in ancient India andhad a world-class mint where coinswere moulded.

CAPITAL OF YODHEYAS

According to historians, it was alsothe capital of the Yodheyas empireand its earlier name was Prakatanak.The remains of the Sandheva cultureand the coins of the Indo-Greek erabesides earthenware have been foundhere. The names inscribed on thecoins are Kaushika, Huvak andVasudeva. Some coins have LordShiva’s vehicle, Nandi, depicted onthem. In the past, a large number ofearthen toys, stone statues and potshave been found here. An earthen toyshows a soldier riding a lion, whereasa few coins have a bull depicted onthem. The family of Lord Shiva andGoddess Lakshmi are also shown in

different forms. A coin depicts Kuber,the God of wealth, holding a pot ofhoney in one hand and a pot of wealthin the other.

The earthen pots and toys foundhere indicate that there was no effectof Buddhism or Vaishnava religion inthe region. Earthen pots were foundhere in the fifties and sixties. Bricks inlarge numbers have been unearthedhere. During the sixties, a temple ofBaba Khere Wale was constructed at aplace prone to road accidents. Thedrivers of heavy vehicles stop hereand pay obeisance.

GREAT REPUBLIC

It appears that during the Vedic periodin the Ganga-Yamuna Doab region,there existed tribes such as Shivi,Kath, Yodheya, Agreya, Kaninda,Shudrak and Malakh. These tribes,which also find a mention in theMahabharata, were governed by thepanchayat system.

After the Mahabharata war, theAryan empire became weak and thesetribes became powerful. According to

scholars, after the fall of the Mauryanempire, Yodheyas governed the greenbelt of Haryana. Thus after theMauryan dynasty, Yodheyas filled thepolitical hollowness with theirrepublic system.

Yodheyas was a unique republicwhere the priority was given to highercastes. Members of only reputedfamilies were elected to theparliament. Leaders were elected onthe basis of caste and bravery. Peoplewere prosperous and were governed byable leaders.

YODHEYAS COINS

In 1834, some coins of the Yodheyasrepublic were found by Capt Kotle inUttar Pradesh. Sometime later, suchcoins were found in Haryana. Later,two heaps of Yodheyas coins werefound in Sonepat. Rogers found coinsat Hansi and Kharkhauda. A big heapwas found in Jayjaywanti, the present-day Jind. A large number of coinswere found in Sirsa, Hisar, Rohtak,Sonepat, Gurgaon and Karnal.

Besides, many seals of Yodheyashave been found in Haryana. In 1936,historian Birbal Sahni found a largenumber of Yodheyas coins moulded inthe mint at Khokrakot in Rohtak. Afterexamining all aspects of the materialfound from the mint, Sahni in hisbook, The Technique of Casting Coinsin Ancient India, writes that thematerial found at Rohtak was the bestamong all the mints in the world. Wenow know that more than twothousand years ago, Rohtak was one ofthe best mints as the patterns of theRohtak mint were far better than thoseof the Roman moulding patterns.

Coins have also been found atKhokrakot, Agroha, Naurangabad,Sudh, Chaneti, Hansi and Hisar. Thecoins of Aagach and Yodheyasrepublics show that with the death ofPushyamitra Sung, these two republicsof Haryana became independent.

GOVT APATHY

Sadly, neither the ArchaeologicalDepartment of the Centre nor that ofthe state government has takeninterest in finding out more about theancient history of the place. Thedepartment should undertakeexcavation work at such places in thestate so that people can know moreabout their ancient heritage. g

The writer is a Bhiwani-basedjournalist

A hamlet thatminted moneyA hamlet thatminted moneyNaurangabad, near Bhiwani, wasonce a flourishing town

FEATURE 51HARYANA REVIEW, NOVEMBER 2009

Sudhir K Sharma

“IPLEDGE that I will use myknowledge for the good ofhumanity -- that I will work

together with my fellow scientists ofwhatever nation, creed or colour for ourcommon goals.” This was an oathproposed for scientists of the world byGene Welfish, the eminent Americanauthor and scientist. Other scientistsmay or may not have heeded to the oathbut humanitarian Norman E Borlaugtook it so seriously that he spent 60 longyears of his life fighting world hungerand saving, by some estimates, up to abillion lives in the process. Borlaug isbest known as the Father of the GreenRevolution, whichbrought about a dramaticincrease in foodproduction that helpedavert widespread famine in Asiabeginning in the 1960s. This was largelydue to a hardy, higher-yielding variety ofwheat that Borlaug developed.

INDIAN SCENE

In India, wheat yields rose from 12.3million tonnes to 20 million tonnesbetween 1965 and 1970. Today, we areself-sufficient in food production eventhough our population has exploded.Borlaug’s high-powered plantseventually were exported to other partsof Asia and the Third World and helpedtrigger a more than threefold increasein food production between 1961 and

2000. Thanks to Borlaug, food is moreabundant and cheaper today.

In his death on September 12 thisyear, the world has lost a messiah whoselife and work gave a new dimension tofarming and agricultural research. Hewas the only person to have won theNobel Peace Prize for his remarkableresearch work in agriculture. He wasalso the recipient of Padma Vibhushan.

SAINTLY MAN

Borlaug was a calm and composedperson who had a saintly demeanour. Asthe Public Relations Officer of HaryanaAgricultural University, I had theopportunity of being in the company ofthe grand old man of agriculture who

had become a legend in hislife time. In 1982, when hevisited the research farmand held discussions with

senior wheat- breeders, in every wordthat he spoke, Borlaug was gentle, suaveand unassuming. During a discussionwhen scientists showered encomiumson him for his researches that changedthe agricultural scenario in India, heinstantly passed on the credit for theunprecedented success of the GreenRevolution to the Indian farmers andscientists. He said, “The wheat materialmade available by me could becomepopular among the farmers of thiscountry, especially those of Haryanaand Punjab, only because the farmershere are receptive to new technology,use of fertilisers, new methods of

farming, and to the advice by thescientists. All these were acceptedsimultaneously by the farmers here.”Only a man of his stature could be somodest and self-effacing.

SENSE OF HUMOUR

During this visit, his sense of humourwas quite evident. At the research farmwhile he was discussing with avidinterest the tall and dwarf varieties ofwheat, scientists requested him to posefor a photograph with them. He readilywalked towards them and stood at theend of the group. A scientist said, “Sir,since you are the tallest, kindly stand inthe middle.” He positioned himself inthe centre of the group and using thewheat -breeders’ terminology, quipped,“I am tall, but I don’t lodge.”

Dhani Ram Vasudev, the then ChiefWheat Breeder, had a long associationwith Borlaug. At another section of thefarm, Vasudev picked up a wheat plantand said, “Norman, this one here hasround heads.” Borlaug replied, “Wewant not only round heads but squareheads too.” Such moments ofcamaraderie between the two stalwartsof agricultural research are some of mymost cherished memories of theBorlaug visit. When I asked him abouthis assessment of the wheat researchwork we were doing at the university, hesaid it was one of the best in the world.

DEDICATED TO WORK

For Borlaug, work was worship. In 1970,when the Norwegian officials informedhis wife in Mexico City that he had wonthe Nobel Prize, Borlaug had left for thetest fields in the Toluca Valley, 65 kmfrom Mexico City. A chauffeur took herto the fields to inform Borlaug about thehonour. When she said, “You have wonthe Nobel Prize.” He replied, “No, Ihaven’t.” Like a great scientist that hewas, Borlaug remained calm even at theexciting news. His daughter, JeanieLaube, later said, “He thought the wholething was a hoax.” Such was hissimplicity, modesty and dedication towork. On December 10, 1970 when hewas awarded the Nobel Prize, in hisacceptance speech, he said, “The NobelPrize Committee was in effect “selectingan individual to symbolise the vital roleof agriculture and food production in aworld that is hungry -- both for breadand peace.” g

The writer is a former official ofChaudhary Charan Singh AgriculturalUniversity, Hisar

Borlaug foughtworld hunger for 60 years

Obituary

SNAPSHOTS HARYANA REVIEW, NOVEMBER 200952

SNAPSHOTS ON HARYANAFAI award for HAU team CHANDIGARH: The FAI GoldenJubilee Award of the FertilisationAssociation of India (FAI) has beenwon by a team of soil scientists ofChaudhary Charan Singh HaryanaAgricultural University, Hisar, forits work on the integrated nutrientmanagement, according to SatishChander, Director General of theFAI. The award-winning teamcomprises Director of Research R PNarwal; Head of the Department ofSoil Sciences J P Singh and seniorsoil scientists R S Antil, A P Gupta,K S Sekhon and D S Mehla.

The award carrying a cash prizeof Rs 20,000 along with a gold medaland a citation will be presented inHyderabad on December 3.

Gurgaon among 53 SouthAsian cities in climate projectGURGAON: Gurgaon Cityparticipated in a project titled ‘TheRoadmap of South Asian Cities andLocal Governments for the Post-2012Global Climate Agreement’.

As many as 53 South Asian cities --40 cities from India and 13 fromBangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and SriLanka -- participated in the project.The initiative was implemented by theInternational Council for LocalEnvironmental Initiative, South Asia,supported by the British HighCommission, New Delhi.

Gurgaon Municipal CommissionerRajesh Khullar said that under theproject, the Municipal Corporation ofGurgaon shared the informationrelated to energy consumption invarious sectors, such as streetlighting,transportation and water-pumpingsystems in residential, commercial,and industrial areas under itsjurisdiction.

HSIIDC contribution towardsindustrial growth hailed CHANDIGARH: The Haryana StateIndustrial InfrastructureDevelopment Corporation (HSIIDC)has stepped up its operations andspent Rs 1,410 crore on thedevelopment of industrialinfrastructure in the state in 2008-09as compared to Rs 1,045 crore in thefiscal 2007-08. This was stated byChief Minister Bhupinder SinghHooda.

Receiving a cheque for Rs 7.5crore as dividend and another for Rs5 crore as contribution towards theChief Minister’s Relief Fund fromHSIIDC Managing Director RajeevArora, Hooda hailed the progressmade by the HSIIDC and itscontribution towards industrialgrowth.

He said when corporatesworldwide were struggling to battlethe recessionary trends, the HSIIDChad continued its journey on thegrowth path. Its gross income in2008-09 touched Rs 146.82 crore ascompared to Rs 106.35 crore in 2007-08.

Second phase of Rs 5,000-crroad project launched CHANDIGARH: Chief MinisterBhupinder Singh Hooda launchedthe second phase of the ambitiousRs 5,000 crore Rajiv Gandhi Bridgesand Roads InfrastructureDevelopment Programme. Hoodaalso released the new PWD code at afunction.

The Chief Minister said the firstphase of the programme costing Rs3,000 crore was launched byCongress president Sonia Gandhi atCharkhi Dadri in 2007, and mostprojects under the programme hadbeen completed before time.

"In all, 245 projects worth Rs 3,112crore have been launched in thestate under the first phase. Of these,148 have been completed at the costof Rs 1,400 crore. The remainingworth Rs 1,600 crore will be ready insix months," he said.

Releasing the PWD code, Hoodasaid transparency, security andquality would prevail after itsintroduction. It would prove to be amilestone. Haryana is the first stateto evolve a code and he hoped otherstates would follow suit. The earliercode had been implemented by theBritish in 1910.

‘Increased pay to lureyouth into Army’ SIRSA: The Indian armed forcesoffer lucrative and graceful careeroptions to the youth in the country.With the implementation of theSixth Pay Commission, more andmore youth, having the passion toserve the nation, are likely to opt forthe armed forces as their first choiceon the career front.

Group captain G S Bedi, StationCommander, Air Force Station,Sirsa, said this while interactingwith radio-listeners during aprogramme ‘Hello Sirsa’, a regularfeature of the Chaudhary Devi LalUniversity Community RadioStation.

Bedi, who was decorated with theVayu Sena Medal for gallantryduring the Kargil Operations, alsoshared his Kargil experiences withthe people of Sirsa. Virender SinghChauhan, station director of theradio station, hosted the programme.

Bhupinder Singh Hooda wins thevote of confidence. - The Hindu

SNAPSHOTS 53HARYANA REVIEW, NOVEMBER 2009

Guv honours statehockey players PANIPAT: Governor JagannathPahadia honoured seven outstandinggirl hockey players of the ShahabadHockey Academy, their coach andthree sisters for excelling in kick-boxing at an impressive ceremonyorganised by Mid-Town Rotary at SDVidya Mandir here.

Each player was given Rs 51,000 incash, a certificate and a memento inrecognition of their achievements atthe national and international level. Itmay be mentioned here that thehockey players of the ShahabadHockey Academy were part of theIndian team which recently qualifiedfor the Championships Trophy in thecompetitions held in South Korea.

Among those honoured were Rani,Mukesh, Rajwinder Kaur, GagandeepKaur, Simranjit Kaur, Balwinder Kaur,Jagjit Kaur and coach Baldev Singh.Three sisters -- Sonia, Pooja andSuman -- were also honoured forexcelling in kick-boxing. TheGovernor also honoured theKurukshetra district sports officer forhis role in laying down the astroturfat the Shahabad Hockey Academy. TheGovernor announced a grant ofRs 1 lakh from his discretionary fundfor the promotion of sports.

LTC for pensioners CHANDIGARH: The Haryanagovernment has decided to introducea new scheme of leave travelconcession (LTC) for pensioners ofthe state government on the patternof the scheme implemented for thestate government employees.

As per a notification, thepensioners will be entitled to draw'one month's pension' as lumpsumassistance once in the block of fouryears declared by the stategovernment as a block regulating theLTC.

Rs 15 per quintal hike incane SAP

Bonus on Haryana sugarcanepurchase likely CHANDIGARH: The Haryanagovernment has increased the stateadvised price (SAP) for sugarcanefor the 2009-10 crushing season,effecting an across the board hike ofRs 15 per quintal for the earlymaturing, mid and late maturingvarieties.

Chief Minister Bhupinder SinghHooda said the cane SAP offered byHaryana was the highest in thecountry. Sources said the stategovernment was likely to announcea bonus over and above the cane SAPduring the crushing season.

According to the decision of theCane Control Board, the meeting ofwhich was presided over by theChief Minister, the cane SAP for theearly maturing varieties has beenincreased to Rs 185 per quintal, forthe mid varieties to Rs 180 perquintal and for the late maturingvarieties to Rs 175 per quintal.

The Chief Minister alsoannounced the cane SAP for the2010-11 crushing season -- Rs 210, Rs205 and Rs 200 per quintal for early,mid and late maturing varieties,respectively. Thus, the cane SAPwould be higher by Rs 25 per quintalin the 2010-11 season.

Later, Hooda said the decision tofix the sugarcane SAP for the 2010-11crushing season was taken inadvance to encourage farmers to goin for sugarcane cultivation.

1.5K cr health plan, skilldevelopment centres

Slew of measures announcedby Hooda on Haryana DayCHANDIGARH: Chief MinisterBhupinder Singh Hooda has said that1,500 skill development centres will beset up across the state to imparttraining to one lakh youths. Moreover,a Rs 1,500 crore health programmewill be launched to developinfrastructure, modernise hospitalsand cover 4 lakh labourers under theNational Health Insurance Scheme.

Competition to populariseSanjhi folk art FATEHABAD: Out of the many folkarts of rural India, Sanjhi is a formthat has been immensely popular inrural parts of Punjab, Haryana,Rajasthan, and western UttarPradesh. It is, however, dying a slowdeath.

The Sanjhi is created on the lastShraadh and is worshipped onNavratri in the evening. Sanjhi isalso known as a ritual to worshipGoddess Lakshmi.

To popularise the art among ruralwomen, a Sanjhi-makingcompetition was organised inFatehabad recently by theInformation and Public RelationsDepartment. Compiled by Ruchi Sharma

The 17th century pottery found atHinjrawan Kalan village,Fatehabad. - The Tribune

HARYANA REVIEW, NOVEMBER 200954 GUEST COLUMN

Atul Yadav

HARYANA has contributedsignificantly to the ArmedForces, particularly when

compared to its population and area.Every 10th man wearing the ArmedForces uniform in India, belongs toHaryana, and every fifth martyrbelongs to this small state. At present,approximately 1.7 lakh men andwomen from Haryana are serving invarious wings of the Armed Forcesand over 2.6 lakh ex-servicemenbelong to Haryana. Taking intoaccount the number of ex-servicemen,their families, war widows, families ofwar widows, the serving personneland their families, about 18 lakhpeople from Haryana are directly orindirectly connected with the ArmedForces. Hence, there is no sphere ofHaryanvi life which has not beeninfluenced by this all-important fact.

In spite of the great contribution ofHaryanvis to the Armed Forces andthe deep impact they have left onsociety and economy of the region,their bravery and sacrifices havemerited only limited attention inmainstream history. It is thisshortcoming that I have attempted tohandle in my book Valour Unlimited:Haryana and the Indian ArmedForces --1914-2000.

The youth of Haryana throughoutthe 20th century was strongly inclinedto join the Armed Forces. The regionjoined the British war effortwholeheartedly. The widespreadsupport for the British cause in thewar led the Haryana region to sendabout 80,000 soldiers to the BritishIndian Army in the First World War.The financial contributions from theregion were to the tune of Rs 28 lakh.In addition, about Rs 1.7 crore wascontributed towards war loans, apartfrom material and livestock.

The youth who joined the battles inEurope came out with distinction. Forthe first time, during World War I, 11Indian soldiers won the Victoria Crossfor which they had become eligible in1911. Risaldar Badlu Ram of Jhajjardistrict was one of them. JamadarsIncha Ram, Lakhi Ram, Ami Lal andJai Lal, all from Rohtak, won theMilitary Cross (MC). In addition,soldiers from Haryana won as many as356 other gallantry awards anddecorations, including 17 Orders ofBritish India (OBI), 67 Indian Orders

of Merit (IOM), 172 IndianDistinguished Service Medals (IDSM),61 Indian Meritorious Service Medals(IMSM), 31 Foreign Decorations andtwo miscellaneous awards. Twohundred special jagirs and 20,000 otherrewards were granted to Indiansoldiers. At the end of World War I,4.2 lakh acres of land was distributedamong 5,900 Viceroy CommissionedOfficers (VCOs) and other rankingIndian officers. Over 14,000 peoplereceived Jangi Inams, especiallyselected VCOs received 200 jagirs, 200VCOs were granted honorary King’sCommission.

During World War II, Haryana sent1.35 lakh men to the British IndianArmy from 1941 to 1945. Princes,landlords, kursi nasheens and darbariscontributed huge amounts to the

Viceroy’s War Fund and alsopurchased War Saving FundCertificates.

Five Haryanvi soldiers -- SubedarRichpal Ram, Company HavildarChhelu Ram, Subedar Ram SarupSingh, all from Bhiwani district;Jamadar Abdul Hafiz from Rohtak andHonorary Captain Umrao Singh --bagged the Victoria Cross. Other thanthis, Haryanvi soldiers were alsoawarded 10 MCs, 36 IDSMs, two IOMs,15 Military Medals, 10 OBIs and 30Mentions in Dispatches during thecourse of World War II. This was anexceptional contribution.

A remarkable occurrence duringWorld War II was the formation of theIndian National Army. Approximately3,500 officers and soldiers in INA (15per cent) were from Haryana, and 346

Valour unlimited

55HARYANA REVIEW, NOVEMBER 2009 55GUEST COLUMN

officers and soldiers of these laiddown their lives while fighting the British.

Just after Independence, in 1947-48,

the J&K operation was unique, as ithad been launched without adequatemilitary intelligence, without propermaps, with no knowledge of thestrength and disposition of the enemy,with no acclimatisation of troops andwith insufficient arms and equipment.Moreover, the force had to be built upfrom scratch. In the initial stage, evenradio communication was notavailable.

The Haryanvi soldier once againfound himself at battle in a difficultand unknown terrain. The other ranksand officers hailing from Haryana setexamples of heroism and bravery andbagged eight Maha Vir Chakras(MVCs) and 33 Vir Chakras (VrCs) inaddition to a large number ofMentions in Dispatches. MajorSomnath Sharma of 4 Kumaon, who

was commanding Haryanvi troops wasawarded the Param Vir Chakraposthumously; it was independentIndia’s highest and first decoration for

gallantry. In addition, two braveofficers who commanded mainlyHaryanvi troops were awardedMVCs. They are Lt Col M MKhanna of 4 Kumaon and MajorMalkit Singh Brar of 1 ParaKumaon. Major H S Bolina of 4Kumaon was given the VirChakra.

The 1962 war with China wasfought at a time when the IndianArmy was suffering severelyfrom the sustainedunpreparedness and lack offoresight on the part of thepolitical leadership. Despite poorequipment, improper clothing,no acclimatisation and witharms of the World War II, theIndian soldiers fought sogallantly that even the enemyhad to salute them. The CCompany of 13 Kumaon atRezang La in Ladakh enacted asaga of bravery in NEFA by 2ndRajput Battalion and the heroesfrom Haryana won 3 MVCs and17 VrCs during the 1962 war.Major Shaitan Singh of 13Kumaon bagged the Param VirChakra posthumously.

Encouraged by the disastrousSino-Indian war, which hadhumiliated India, Pakistanstarted Operation Gibraltarfollowed by Operation GrandSlam in 1965. Many memorablebattles were fought. During this

war, the officers and other ranks fromHaryana bagged six MVCs and 21VrCs, in addition to umpteenMentions in Dispatches.

The seventies started with a better-trained, well-equipped and well-organised army. Officers and otherranks from Haryana once again playedan important role in the 1971 war.Major Hoshiar Singh of Sonepat wasdecorated with the Param Vir Chakrain the battle of Basantar. The valiantHaryanvi soldiers were awarded fiveMVCs, 48 VrCs, nine Sena Medals, fiveNau Sena Medals and two Vayu SenaMedals. The 1971 war with Pakistanfor the first time saw the Indian AirForce and Indian Navy in full combat.

Three misadventures in the pastapparently did not teach Pakistan anylessons. Playing their duplicitous role,

they surreptitiously moved theirtroops into Kargil in Jammu andKashmir in June 1999 while talkingpeace at the highest level. The Indianintelligence failed once again. ThePakistani soldiers were in occupationof several commanding heights, fromwhere they could disrupt the Indianlogistic support to the Srinagar-Lehhighway, between Drass and Kargil.The Indian army faced one of themost difficult tasks in Kargil; it waslike fighting a sinister enemy withtheir hands tied. They had definiteorders not to cross the LoC. Here also,Haryana bled profusely. Of the 519ranks who sacrificed themselves, 74belonged to Haryana. Lt Balwan Singhwas decorated with the MVC whilefour others were awarded VrCs and 10bagged Sena Medals for gallantry. Asmany as 554 soldiers from Haryanalaid down their lives during variousother operations conducted by theIndian Armed Forces within andoutside India. In these operations, anMVC and 13 VrCs were awarded toHaryanvi officers and other ranks.

To understand the mind of theHaryanvi soldier, a set of threequestionnaires was prepared byleading psychologists and tested onsoldiers of World War II and after. Fora state and people so deeplyinterlinked with the Armed Forces, itbecomes imperative to take specialcare of the families of serving andthose retired from the forces. Thestate has an elaborate chain of ZilaSainik Boards, supply canteens,hospitals and a number of otherfacilities for families of serving andretired defence personnel. The NCC atschool and college prepares youngmen for a career in defence. SainikSchool Kunjpura, Karnal, alsoprovides a great opportunity to theyouth of Haryana to prepare for acareer in the forces.

When looked at in terms of thesmall size of the state and the smallshare it has in the total population ofIndia, the winning of 24 Maha VirChakras (third highest statewise); 112Vir Chakras (third highest); and not toforget the Param Vir Chakra and alarge number of other gallantryawards, the Haryanvi soldier andtheir families have a lot to beproud of. g

The writer is an Assistant Professorof History, Government PostgraduateCollege, Ambala Cantonment

HARYANA REVIEW, NOVEMBER 200956 BOOK REVIEW

Randeep Wadehra

The Ugly Duckling Goes to Work by Mette NorgaardOrient Paperbacks. Pages: 189. Price: Rs 295

EVERY culture has its own genreof adventure stories, fairy tales,legends, myths, fables and

parables. Most of these are multi-layered, in the sense that differentreaders read these for differentreasons. For example, children wouldread the Gulliver’s Travels for sheerentertainment, the wonder of tiny-sized Lilliputians “capturing”Gulliver, among other things. But foradults, it is a savagely bitter satirethat could occasionally transgress theboundaries of decency. We have ourown literature like Panchtantra andJatak Kathayein that provide differentmessages to different age groups. Suchliterature – oral or written – helpsmould the worldview of a society,influences its cultural developmentand paves the way for its material andspiritual-philosophical evolution.

Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875) was a Danish author, whose fairytales have been translated into morethan 80 languages and have inspiredplays, ballets, films, and works ofsculpture and painting. His firstliterary success was A Walk fromHolmen’s Canal to the East Point of theIsland of Amager in the Years 1828 and1829. Andersen’s first novel, TheImproviser, was well received bycritics, and his first book of fairy taleswas published the same year, 1835.Andersen’s fantasy tales like The UglyDuckling, The Emperor’s New Clothes,The Snow Queen, The Red Shoes andThe Little Mermaid were pioneering inthe usage of sophisticated thoughtprocesses and the application ofvocabulary and constructions ofspoken language. Experts point outthat The Ugly Duckling is the mostautobiographical of his works. Hischildhood days were pathetic – apart

from being poor, his family suffereddubious reputation. While his parentsmarried just before he was born, hisgrandmother was imprisoned forgiving birth to several illegitimatechildren. His grandfather was aninmate of a lunatic asylum while hisillegitimate half-sister worked in abrothel. He himself was ugly andeffeminate. Scholars point out that,like the ugly duckling, Andersen wasdependent on benefactors who did notunderstand him. They tormented andill-treated him. As he had to endurelong and difficult times when he washarried by doubts about his self-worth,he developed feelings of inferiorityvis-a-vis his worth as a writer andperson. Nevertheless he did not let goof optimism although, like theduckling, he remained full of self-pityand self-dramatisation. His fortitudeand talent eventually triumphed when,on sheer merit, not only did he gainroyal patronage but also became thebest-loved author not just in Denmarkbut also in the rest of Europe. Today,his works are considered genuinelycerebral that provide profoundnarratives which appeal to all agegroups belonging to different walks of life.

REINTERPRETATIONS

Norgaard has reinterpreted some ofAndersen’s more famous fairy tales,using them as parables for modern dayworkplace – something that isindicated in the book’s title itself. Forexample, The Emperor’s New Clothessatirises the underlings’ tendency toplease their bosses even by praisingtheir stupidity; this desire to fit intoother people’s agenda diminishes one’sself. The Dung Beetle underscores theneed for backing one’s claims withsolid achievements; the author citesthe former world heavyweight boxingchampion Muhammad Ali’s example,who often used to say, “It ain’tbragging if you can do it.” The Nisseat the Grocer’s is based on a Danishfarming community’s superstition but

has been reinterpreted to send out themessage that tension is good forcreative action and that a theory withpractical value must be treasured.Giving Peter Drucker’s example, thebook points out how eclecticknowledge can help develop practicalmanagement ideas and theories indifferent fields. On the other hand,The Fir Tree suggests that regrets

related to nostalgia prevent one fromfully living in the present – thusmissing the opportunity to live life tothe full. The author points out that wecan engage with life and giveourselves to something we find worthdoing. The Nightingale epitomises“insane commitment” to one’spassion. If you are talented and have azeal for developing and displaying it,there is no way you can fail to getrecognition sooner or later. This is notmere inspirational verbiage but asound practical advice – for successyou must have a dream as well as thedesire to pursue it relentlessly. TheUgly Duckling underscores theimportance of the process of sufferingand humiliation, which helps buildone’s ultimate persona.

The interpretations are bothenlightening and absorbing. g

The writer is a poet and columnist

Turning fables into sound practical advice

Dear children, I like being with children and

talking to them and, even more,playing with them. For the moment Iforget that I am terribly old and it isvery long ago since I was a child.

But when I sit down to write, Icannot forget my age and the distance that separates you from me.Old people have a habit of deliveringsermons and good advice to theyoung.

-Chacha Nehru

Jawaharlal Nehru’s birthdayfalls on November 14, which iscelebrated as Children’s Day

Registered with the Registrar of Newspapers of India, R.N.I. No. 10412Postal Regd. No. CHD/123/2009-11

The ancient Bhima Devi temple at Pinjore has its architecture similarto the Panchayatan group of temples created in the 11th century. Thecarving style is according to postures and anatomy similar to that ofKhajuraho. The sculpture made in sandstone depicts the Ganga on theleft, the Yamuna on the right and the figure of God in the centre. Thefour pillars in the statue add to the aesthetic and ornamental value.