In India: Rs 75 a day for monkeys, Rs 27 for humans

Monkeys rated above humans; Rs. 75 a day to feed a monkey in Delhi, Rs. 27 for basic living for humans in villages

According to the records of the Delhi Government's forest department, Rs. 75 per head per day is spent to feed monkeys in the Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary located in South Delhi. It would be interesting to recall that the Planning Commission of India and the Finance Ministry of India prescribed in July, 2013 that if a person is spending Rs. 27.20 in rural areas, he could not be considered poor. He does not belong to the Below Poverty Level category of people in India. For cities, the expenditure cap was fixed at Rs. 33.

In an irony to the state of humans in India, Delhi’s forest department has spent a nothing less than Rs. 6 crore in feeding 16,400 monkeys at the Delhi Sanctuary in the last six years. The Forest Department’s reports state that it spends approximately Rs. 14 lakh every month on food for the monkeys in the sanctuary since 2007-08 following a Delhi High Court directive to feed the animal.

 The cost to feed monkeys has been rising every year given the fact that food inflation has been flying north in India, in general, and Delhi, in particular. The expenditure incurred on feeding the monkeys in 2007-08 was Rs. 13.01 lakh. It went up to Rs. 1.19 crore in 2008-09. In 2009-10, the expenses declined to Rs. 13.01 lakh before going up to Rs. 1.27 crore in 2010-11, Rs. 1.39 crore in 2011-12 and the Rs. 1.50 crore in 2012-13.

In the backdrop of this incremental cost in keeping monkeys healthy in a protected environment, it would be interesting to compare the cost prescribed by the Manmohan Singh government to meet the basic requirements including food valued in rupees as calculated by the Planning Commission. The cost of living for humans prescribed by the United Progressive Alliance government of India is less than half of what is being incurred per head on the upkeep of monkeys in the Capital.

In October, 2011, the Planning Commission filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court saying that the BPL cap was pegged at an expenditure of Rs. 32 and Rs. 26 by an individual in the urban and rural areas respectively taking into account the rate of inflation prevailing in 2010-11. This was revised in March, 2012 by the Planning Commission, which stated that anyone with a daily consumption expenditure of Rs. 28.35 and Rs. 22.42 in urban and rural areas respectively does not belong to the BPL category. 

The March, 2012 estimates of the Planning Commission were revised again in July, 2013 as the electoral politics started hotting up in India and the Manmohan Singh government was facing flak from every corner for persisting high inflation and stagnant economic growth. The Planning Commission, which works in tandem with the government of the day at Centre stated that people whose consumption of goods exceeds Rs. 33 a day in cities and Rs. 27.20 a day in villages are not poor. Incidentally, in the same report, the Planning Commission said that India has reduced the number of poor by more than 15 percentage points since 2004, when the UPA seized power from Atal Behari Vajpayee-led National Democratic Alliance government.

These figures of the Delhi Forest Department have been arrived at on the basis of the actual expenditure incurred in buying fruits and vegetables at the wholesale price in Delhi. In contrast, the planning commission and the finance ministry calculated the daily requirements at the market price. So, according to the understanding as well as the policies and schemes of the government in India roughly three humans can live a day respectfully catering to their food, housing, clothing, travel and medical requirements in Indian villages on a day’s food expenditure of a monkey living in the Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary in the national capital. No wonder, India is the capital of malnourished, hungry, diseased and sanitation-deprived people in the world.

Manmohan Sounds Poll Bugle, Will People Listen?

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh presented his government's report card on Wednesday on completion of four years of staying in power. Adding his previous regime, the UPA government is in power for nine years. One thing is clear that no prime minister can be honest enough to do genuine critical analysis of his own government. Those were different days when former prime minister Jawahar Lal Nehru came down heavily on his own ministers following allegations of nepotism and corruption. Now, it's all about cover-up business and making bold (at times foolishly bold) claims of one's own achievements. Manmohan Singh seemed one such exposed politician on Wednesday.

The Prime Minister chose to focus on four areas, that were key to him in patting his back. His "four key achievements: one, the improved performance of the economy; two, making the growth process more inclusive; three, delivery of better governance and better delivery of welfare and development programmes; and, four, improved relations with a changing and challenging  world" are now public. Singh insisted that his government has "taken our country forward on all these four fronts in the nine years".

At the face of it, the claims look erroneous. The claim of fast GDP growth does not hold water in the face of all reports of increasing disparity among the populace. The constantly high inflation especially of food articles in past more than four years betrays bad financial and monetary management of the country. The last year's GDP growth rate of less than five percent was attributed to a global phenomenon. The Prime Minister cited China's slowdown as collateral proof and also recalled a lower average growth rate during NDA regime. But, the economist-turned-politician failed to notice that India did not grow at the rate at which China grew and also not on the similar fundamentals of economy. Secondly, many economists believed that the first two years of UPA's nine-year rule benefitted from the policies of NDA regime. Moreover, can the government justify one failure with another apparent failure?

Manmohan Singh could have done well speaking the truth behind stagnating economy. He should have explained why his government is suffering from policy paralysis, why several infrastructural projects have been stalled, why investment projects are not taking off, why corruption has become a rule in his government and most importantly, why governance has been receding for four-five years.
 

The government's claim of making growth more inclusive is debatable. Many communities in India are sulking under the present regime. Tribals in the east and the north-east feel deeply alienated. It finds expression in the spreading network of naxal insurgency. The naxalism has successfully found foot soldiers in Assam for the first time since it started in late 1960s in West Bengal. The only state where naxal violence has been curbed is Andhra Pradesh but the state is embroiled in nothing less than what could be termed as a 'mini civil-war' with Telangana simmering to have its separate identity and Royalseema hoping to gain some lateral benefits. There is none to deny that Telangana has been mismanaged by the Manmohan Singh government.

Singh's third claim of better governance and ensuring welfare of people can be easily reviewed in the chorus of 2G, Coal, Defence, MNREGS and many other scams. Most of the scams were examined and verified by the Comptroller and Auditor General's office, which came under sharp criticism from the government. Thankfully, the judicial decisions have not gone against the claims of the CAG. Now, the same constitutional body's independence is reportedly being compromised with the UPA's decision to appoint defence secretary Shashi Kant Sharma as the next CAG of India. Sharma will be examining and auditing the deals that he cleared as the defence secretary as part of the UPA government's machinery. Combine this with reports suggesting government's neglect of intelligence gathering resulting in terror attacks climaxed in 2008-killings in Mumbai, and one will get a scary picture of governance and compromising condition of the welfare of people.
 

The welfare schemes of the government, chiefly under the right to education, the right to employment and proposed schemes under right to food and the right to health are all fraught with serious economic danger. The right to eduction has not helped improvement in quality education. The need of the hour is not simply bringing kids to school but to empower them with quality and competitive education. Only then will the teeming millions can take on the dominating world economies. The drop out rates and declining quality of education must be wrest immediately. For this to achieve the prime minister and his ministers should have worked in close coordination with the state governments but the politics prevailed over good 'welfare' sense.

Right to employment through MNREGS has only encouraged corruption and eaten up tax payers' money. Food security and health bills will aggravate the situation only. These two politically ambitious schemes will in all probability fall flat as there is an absolute lack of adequate administrative machinery to deliver the goods. The end result will be fleecing the tax payers, which include even those who may be the targetted beneficiary.

Finally, the Prime Minister feels that India's relation with the comity of nations has improved. This holds true only if one excludes everything except business. The neighbours constantly keep teasing India. China has made at least four serious incursions into Indian territories during UPA's rule, the latest being in Despang area, wherein Chinese forced India to compromise on border security vigil. Pakistan has not shown any intent of assuaging India's concerns. Bangladesh does not shy away from challenging India.

Nepal keeps pricking it and uses China threat to counter its southern neighbour. Sri Lanka has openly contested India's rights in the sea waters. India too has failed to grab the opportunities to cement ties with the island nation in recent past paving way for greater cooperation between Sri Lanka and China. India remained practically a mute spectator while Maldives plunged into a chaos. India has faced many diplomatic embarrassments at the hands of Italy, Argentina, Iran and a host of other nations in past nine years, a period which the Prime Minister chose to reflect upon. The only bright diplomatic spot that is visible on the UPA's face if nuclear deal with the US and subsequent approval by the nuclear suppliers group. But, the deal is still controversial and can be judged only in longer term.

Considering that the UPA-2 has entered into its final year, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's claims may not go down well with people, who can see through the veil of numbers and phrases. The UPA has sounded the poll bugle, it is now time for people to prepare for voting next year.

Anna: From Movement To Agitation

(Reproducing the article that I wrote for Merinews yesterday)

The British ruled over India for about 190 years during which they sustained what they believed the biggest jolt to their rule in the form of Revolt of 1857. Historians, now, say that the revolt of 1857 failed to live upto its promise because of its inherent weaknesses, biggest being internal dissensions. And, the British continued to rule for another 90 years. There seem to be a parallel in Anna’s movement for Lokpal Bill which is evidently directed against the present UPA government.

It was only last year, when the entire nation made beeline behind an old man, who finds Gandhism thrust upon him. Anna Hazare has tried to emulate the Mahatma, but despite his personal integrity and grit, his movement has all the signs of frittering away and waning. People of the country are no longer moved by his call for fight against corruption. The government prepares for his call for fast, agitation and mass gathering, but somewhere within, it knows that Anna is more like a spent force now.

There are three important components of the Anna Movement, Anna, himself, his Team and people. Anna, first. The supposed Gandhian leader took up the cause floated by India Against Corruption and championed it and on the way to mercurial popularity he expanded his arena of fight from Maharashtra to cover entire India. He was clearly swayed by the volumes of support that he got from the people of this country, who felt that a new Gandhi had emerged to take on the might of the government, which had been disconnected from the people it governed. People’s anger found a genuine expression in Anna’s call to stand against corruption. Similar emotion had already been experimented successfully in Bollywood through films like Lage Raho Munna Bhai, where people clapped when an old man, a retired school teacher embarrasses a government official to secure his pension.

People are fed up with the all pervasive corruption for long now and Gandhianised Anna gave hope to them. But, somehow, Anna Hazare failed to keep that mass support intact. One has to accept this as Anna’s inherent weakness. He is no Gandhi. People failed to realize this and their expectations of Anna remained so high that he could not have lived upto. He lacks the organizational skill and the understanding of public mood of the Mahatma. Also, Anna Hazare has not been consistent in his speeches and actions over past one and a half-year, which is so un-Gandhian. This drifted the masses away from him and his movement.

Anna’s team is, at its best, pulling in different directions. Allegations of nepotism and dictatorial attitude have been the biggest obstacle in accomplishing the task that the team has taken unto itself. Chief architect of the Team Anna, Arvind Kejriwal has, somehow, alienated all colleagues but a few. Even Anna Hazare does not seem to be in sync with his team all the time. This has exposed an organized bunch of activists to the ruthlessness of the government. Also, the allegations against Kiran Bedi of malpractices and of having communal tinge against the team have not done any good for it. The inevitable result has been loss of credibility of Team Anna among the masses.

On their part, people have also behaved in an intriguing manner. All of a sudden, when the middle was rising, the masses in India rallied behind Anna Hazare, giving hope to the old wise man. Anna mistook this momentary exuberance of people as their readiness for a long drawn battle against the government. This was not. The hope of Ramlila Maidan in Delhi, the political capital dashed in the Azad Maidan in Mumbai, the commercial capital. It also served the Team Anna a clear message that people cannot sacrifice their economic/commercial interests for some wayward political gains. This is precisely why and how Anna’s anti-graft movement became a pro-lokpal agitation. The coming days, beginning today, are likely to follow the same pattern.

Sonia Appears Before Gandhi

Congress president Sonia Gandhi made her first public appearance on Sunday after her surgery in the United States recently. Along with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the UPA chief paid homage to Mahatma Gandhi on his 142nd birth anniversary at Rajghat.

Sonia returned to India on September 08. Since then, Sonia had avoided public meetings and functions even though the UPA government witnessed a bitter clash between two of its senior ministers. She dealt with the crisis but stayed away from public giving rise to speculations that Sonia may be planning to pass on the mantle of the party to her son, Rahul Gandhi. Sundayz public appearance is being viewed as a signal that Sonia is still at the helm of the affairs both in the congress party and the UPA.

Sonia Gandhi is still recuperating from her surgery, but she has got herself into handling issues plaguing the Manmohan Singh govt including infighting and court developments in 2G scam and cash for votes scandal. Sonia is said to be working on alternate plans for a possible adverse court judgements post-Dussehra vacation, when hearing on several scams resume. The forced patch between two senior cabinet ministers over secret 2G note, effected by Sonia Gandhi last week was part of her alternate plans to navigate the government's ship through the turbulent waters of scandals and scams.

Sonia Gandhi's partial resumption of party work and her first public appearance at Rajghat on Mahatma Gandhi's 142nd anniversary comes at a time when the opposition is going berserk in its criticism of the scam tainted UPA government. Her public appearance also came a couple of days after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh alleged that there are forces at work to destabilize the government. With this in backdrop, Sonia Gandhiz appearance before Mahatma Gandhi's samadhi seems to be an attempt to make an emphatic statement that she is not losing grip over nation's politics.

Sonia Gandhi had given indications of taking command of the party affairs some days ago itself when she summoned Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot in the wake of Bharatpur communal violence and two state ministers being dragged into controversies surrounding women, one of them is traceless while the other has died. Also, Sonia Gandhi called on Lok Sabha speaker Meira Kumar last week, which according to sources yielded into Kumar giving sanction to prosecute BJP MP Ashok Argal in the cash for votes scandal. Clearly, Sonia wants to put her message in a very straightforward style, that has been typical of her in past two decades.