03-07-2021
India should stand with
developing countries
The subjugation
of Indian interests to the US
in matters of external affairs is
increasingly pushing India
towards becoming an instrument and guarantor of
American interests in the region
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
participates in the first Outreach Session of the G7 Summit virtually.
At
the recent G7 outreach summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi pitched
for “One Earth, One Health”. This is ironic since he was
non-committal for the longest time in ensuring evenly
priced Covid-19 vaccines for
the people of his country. But what explains his
desperate attempt to portray India as close to the
richer countries and claim a visible bonhomie with
right-wing leaders of the Western hemisphere?
This question is important since the prime minister has
been conspicuous by his absence at Non-Aligned Movement summits. He attended
only a virtual meeting of the NAM Contact Group, in 2020, after
his government was criticised for human rights
violations, failure to protect minorities, abolition
of Article 370, use of sedition laws, and so on.
The answer to
this question is two-fold. One stems from the demagoguery
of the prime minister resulting in his followers propelling his unsustainable
larger-than-life image. The second and
the more pivotal reason is located in
the global structural crisis of capitalism. The crisis is inherent in
the nature of capitalism. Since the 1970s, monopoly capital has
only produced nominal returns in the advanced economies and
this has been the central concern of the rich and their enabling ecosystems
such as the IMF. In search of higher returns, investment of
capital in the developing world has increased. As
a consequence, privatisation and
exploitation have picked up pace and lives and
livelihoods have become even more insecure. The crisis
is manifest in unemployment, poor wages and working conditions, lack
of social security, etc. The anxiety among the
working classes is being used to lure them to divisive rhetoric
deployed by demagogues such as Modi and Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro.
Ideological
reliance on the “free” market was
a part and parcel of the neoliberal doctrine. Lofty claims
of globally integrated free-markets from which prosperity would
trickle down could hardly conceal the increase in economic inequality
in the last five decades, now quantified by economist
Thomas Piketty. Alarming levels of wealth concentration at
the top and increasing destitution at
the bottom are the hallmarks of neoliberalism.
The problem is particularly grave in
developing countries which have become isles of
relatively higher returns to monopoly capital in an
otherwise uncertain free market.
The Indian state
under Modi has been more than happy to facilitate
capitalists as they accrue super-profits. The bandwagoning of
the interests of the Indian people behind Western
economies has not only increased economic hardship but also curtailed
democracy. Access to public health, education, housing
and employment have become elusive as the push for privatisation
of PSUs, sale of national assets, weakening of
financial cushions like the RBI and LIC continues. Whatever
we see around us — disease and death, inflation,
poverty, unemployment — follows a single logic, which is
the protection of capitalist interests.
The inclination
of Indian polity towards advanced capitalist economies is evidently
detrimental to the rights and interests of
the Indian working class and farmers. The subjugation
of Indian interests to the US in matters of external affairs
is increasingly pushing India towards becoming an instrument and
guarantor of American interests in the region, straining our
relations with neighbours like China and time-tested allies
like Russia.
The recent meeting
of the G7 agreed on a plan to
“Build Back Better World” (B3W) to curtail Chinese influence and
its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Even from a
realist prism, the G7 and G20 are not representative of the dynamic development
of the global economy in the recent decades. The closing of
the economic gap between China and the US
has made the Western world uneasy as it is the
first serious challenge to Western dominance after the
disintegration of the USSR. Provocations and
trade wars are taking the globe closer to
a new Cold War. In this backdrop,
India should adopt an independent foreign policy and
champion the concerns of the global south instead of
succumbing to the agenda of US and other Western powers.
The spiritual lessons from Covid-19
Pandemic has
exposed the limits of modernity. It
is time to reflect on the illusory character of
our inflated egos, the way we live.
Is there anybody who has
not felt the acute pain of being lonely —
the fear of being stigmatised and insulated as
the virus becomes irresistible the fear of
a lonely death at the ICU of a hospital, or
the fear of one’s dead body being thrown into
the ‘sacred’ river? (Illustration: C R Sasikumar)
I am large,
I contain multitudes
— Walt Whitman
It seems we
are all broken and wounded. As we pass through psychic
bewilderment, existential uncertainty and fear of death,
a question confronts us: How do we live? Is there
nothing more in living than following a set of
Covid-appropriate guidelines — wearing masks, using
sanitisers, avoiding large gatherings
and getting ourselves vaccinated as early as we can?
Moreover, our basic survival issues as well as immense financial and
economic anxiety continue to haunt us. Yet, despite these practical
constraints, there are moments when
we begin to reflect on the very purpose of living as each of
us has seen our loved ones dying, our “taken-for-granted” world crumbling,
and even our privileges — medical insurances
and social capital — proving to be illusory amid
chaotic hospitals and unmanageable crematoriums. Yes, we
will take the vaccines; and possibly, economists and
policymakers will assure us and promise a
“better” future with enhanced growth rates and GDP. But,
the psychic /existential/spiritual questions that the pandemic has posed
will continue to bother us. Doctors,
pharmaceutical companies,
or even psychiatric drugs cannot provide a
meaningful answer to these questions; nor can celebrity
babas give us instant capsules of redemption. Possibly, the
pandemic is conveying a message. We ought to redefine ourselves as seekers
and wanderers — not narcissistic conquerors.
The tremendous vital energy that
modernity generates tends to make us think that we are the
masters of the world. With science, we can
know, predict and control. With technology, we
can shape the world the way we want. And
with the remarkable growth in medical sciences and
diagnostic technologies, we can postpone death. Well, who can negate
the success stories of modernity? Yet, amid this glitz of
modernity, we tend to forget the reality of impermanence, or the
inherent uncertainty of existence. A beauty queen, despite the
miracle of plastic surgery and anti-ageing devices,
will become a skeleton; a sudden cardiac
attack might deprive the most “efficient” corporate executive of his
“productivity”; and not everything can be predicted, the way the
meteorology department predicts whether this afternoon there
will be rains in south Delhi. Yet, quite often, because
of our modernist indulgence with “certainty”, “productivity”, ceaseless
“growth” and limitless consumption, we forget that nothing is
permanent, and the next moment cannot be predicted. It
is sad that we needed a pandemic of this kind
to make us see the reality of impermanence and uncertainty
so vividly.
Think of it.
Can we see beyond the illusory optimism of modernity and
life-negating despair that is affecting many of us at this moment?
Possibly, as we acknowledge the reality of impermanence and uncertainty,
we begin to value the worth of mindfulness — the
nuanced art of living at this very moment. Yes, our
“tomorrow” is beyond prediction; neither a doctor nor an astrologer
can predict whether we will be lucky to see yet
another sunrise tomorrow. However, we can live — and live
deeply, intensely and mindfully — at this very moment. Why do we negate
the aliveness of this moment in the name of controlling or fearing the
“future”? When we are really alive and experience this
very moment, a sense of gratitude envelops us. Life acquires
a meaning. Only then is it possible to echo with
Tagore, and sing:
“I have seen, have heard, have lived/In the depth of
the known have felt/The truth that exceeds all
knowledge/Which fills my heart with wonder and
I sing.”
Possibly, this
is also the time to reflect on the
illusory character of our inflated
egos. See the way we live. We
erect huge walls of separation. While
urban centres normalise anonymity, and
workplaces transform us into strangers or competitors, we tend
to think that money can buy everything, or
we begin to see ourselves in the statistics of Facebook/Instagram/Twitter
followers and subscribers. Or, for that matter, when
the technologies of surveillance have taught us
to suspect everybody, where is the possibility of a
life-affirming human relationship, or a living community with a soul? Furthermore, even today we have not succeeded in becoming free from
the practice of ghettoisation and untouchability. Yes, it is the
irony of our times that we needed a pandemic
to make us see the hollowness of this egotistic pride. Is
there anybody who has not felt the acute pain of
being lonely — the fear of being stigmatised and insulated
as the virus becomes irresistible, the fear of
a lonely death at the ICU of a hospital, or the fear of
one’s dead body being thrown into the
“sacred” river? Each of us has felt the need to
be loved, touched and listened to; each of us has
realised that money cannot buy everything; and each of us
has felt that nothing matters more in life than the ecstasy
of love. Love conquers fear; love makes death meaningful; love is more powerful than
the vaccine. Possibly, the pandemic is compelling us
to ask this pertinent question: Can we
prioritise love over the power of money? Can
we attach more importance to the spontaneity of human relationships
rather than the hyper-reality of media simulations?
The pandemic is
catastrophic. For the survivors, the world will no longer be
the same. Yet, all attempts will be made — particularly, by the
brigade of techno-capitalists and narcissistic political bosses — to convince
the new generation that life must go on as usual with
the same greed, violence and loneliness. However, if you and I are
willing to be introspective, contemplative and reflective, we
are bound to realise that we must alter the rhythm of
life, and learn to live with humility, gratitude
and love. Only then is it possible to realise
the depths in Thich Nhat Hanh’s prophetic vision: “When
we identify with the life of all that exists, we realise that
birth and death are minor fluctuations in an ever-changing cosmos.”
Why ex-bureaucrats speak up
There is no doubt
that there is alarm over whether retired officers
are talking too much. They are flashing too many
yellow and red cards on the
regime’s various acts of omission and commission.
It is unusual for
this government to be so explicit — when it is so remarkably economic
with facts and details on more immediate issues, like what plastic surgery is
being rushed through on Delhi’s face, the Central Vista.
One feels immensely relieved that
at no point in one’s
four decades of government service was one
ever important enough to work in any of the 25
critical organisations that deal with state security.
This places one outside the scope of the
central government order of May 31 that prohibits officers who
retired from any of these listed organisations to publish
without taking prior clearance from the government.
It bans discussions on “the domain of the organisation”, a
bureaucratic way of saying “don’t spill the beans”.
The more important restriction is on revealing any
“expertise or knowledge gained by virtue of working in that
organisation”. This is as ambiguous as, say, our Covid mortality
statistics, prone to conflicting interpretations.
The next clause that one cannot share any
“sensitive information” was known to all responsible officers —
which phrase hopefully covers retired ones as well.
The present dispensation, of course, takes no chances with
retired bureaucrats, and sternly reminds them not to
disclose information that would “prejudicially affect the sovereignty
and integrity of India, the security, strategic, scientific or
economic interests of the State”.
It is unusual for this government to
be so explicit — when it is so remarkably economic with facts and details on
more immediate issues, like what plastic surgery is
being rushed through on Delhi’s face, the Central Vista. As
the order stands, it covers a minuscule but very interesting section of
the bureaucracy — those who worked in
specific intelligence and security organisations and organisations
prone to raiding, like the CBI, ED or Income Tax (Investigation).
Hopefully, others may continue to write, criticise,
“kiss and tell”, but it is surely a warning to them that
this ban may be extended to them, any time.
The
notification also amends the central pension rules, enabling
the government to withhold the pension of those who defy. Yet,
the same rules also mention that pension is “not in
the nature of reward but there is a binding obligation….
which can be claimed as a right”. The catch is that
it insists on “future good conduct” as a “condition of
every grant of pension and its continuance.” While this
“good conduct” clause gladdens padres and
moral science teachers, these delightfully contradictory
provisions mean that the government keeps all its
options open. The courts are, however,
not amused and have historically ruled in favour of the
pensioner. There are mountains of judgments against executive
attempts to use pension against troublesome retirees. Yet, the judiciary
does appear to get quite reticent when “security” is
invoked by the government, as in the Bhima Koregaon cases that never seem to end.
Those who bemoan
that courts are too indulgent with the government may,
however, be reassured by
the recent Supreme Court order of February 2020 in Dr
Hira Lal v. State of Bihar. “It is
well settled”, observes the court, “that the right to
pension cannot be taken away by a mere executive fiat or
administrative instruction. Pension and gratuity are not mere bounties,
or given out of generosity by the employer. An
employee earns these benefits by virtue of his long, continuous,
faithful and unblemished service”.
This does not, of
course, entitle a retired officer to endanger the nation’s security,
but surely, one is mature enough to distinguish between genuine protests
and sedition. Whether busting scams
in intelligence or police organisations constitutes a
security hazard would, however, have to be decided by courts, if
pensions of crusaders are stopped. Holding a view contrary
to the government’s prevailing narrative can surely not be equated
with treachery — even when it is on
a sensitive issue like Kashmir or general security.
Some may feel that it would be beneficial for our
security system if experienced police officers analysed why
and how one of the most grievous lapses in intelligence and
security took place in a tightly controlled zone like Pulwama.
But none may do so, if stopping pension
is threatened. Let us remember that, with current advancements
in technology, the enemy’s satellite can now not
only see moving trucks but also their number plates.
Hence, orders that were meant for
colonial times or even for
the late 20th century may not suffice.
There is no doubt
that there is alarm over whether retired officers
are talking too much. They are flashing too many
yellow and red cards on the
regime’s various acts of omission and commission.
The counter strategy to muster obliging retired bureaucrats and
diplomats to speak in the government’s favour
and attack their former colleagues has not been a box-office hit. It
may certainly have been more productive if
the government tried to understand what drives such large numbers of
retired secretaries, ambassadors, directors-general of police and others to speak out
against its policies. After all, till recently, senior bureaucrats
retired in peace and were quite satisfied
with playing bridge or golf. Even now,
the vast majority holds its tongue, as it has been
trained to, over a whole lifetime. Many bureaucrats surely
know better than the public what benefits accrue from
silence and acquiesce. The risks of contesting
the government are high, but then, there comes a crossroad
in life when a 92-year-old Julio Ribeiro and many of his retired colleagues
just have to speak up.
John Lennon’s Imagine,
50 years later, resonates with a global politics of
brotherhood
The dark cloud which seems to hang over
the Imagine spirit may have little to do
with material circumstances and more to do with
our failure to locate the spirit in the completeness of
life.
John Lennon
John
Lennon’s Imagine turns 50 tomorrow. Though
a song cannot be pinned down to one day, it was on July 4, 1971,
that finishing touches were put on the recording
of Imagine. It was released in an album later
that year.
How might we honour,
or just respond to, this poignant anniversary? What is the bittersweet
significance of Lennon’s dream of a world living as
one? Should his longing for universal brotherhood
be dismissed as futile because Lennon himself was killed by
a “fan” who, among other reasons, was incensed by Imagine?
At
a time when identity-based hatred is diversely justified across
the world, it is easy to feel entrapped in a
pessimistic view of human societies. For those so
afflicted, Imagine can be little more than a
hippie fantasy.
Most of us
know people who feel offended by Lennon’s proposition that
there is neither heaven nor hell, “above us,
only sky”. Add to that the vision of “no countries”, “no
religion”, “nothing to kill or die for” — and opposition is
inevitable.
Long after
the defeat of communism, Lennon’s appeal that we
“imagine no possessions”, can be ridiculed by anyone who is invested in
a global economic culture that requires an endless desire
for more material goods and purchasable experiences.
Of course, Lennon’s
lyrics anticipate this disdain. Thus, the refrain of
the song is, perhaps, even more famous than
its title: “You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only
one.”
Whether or not he
intended it, this puts Lennon in the company of anarchists
— and that does not mean rebels
who throw bombs at kings and other rulers. Here,
the term anarchist refers to all those who have been
inspired by the rallying cry — “Demand the impossible”.
When
Gandhi insisted that with
the power of love and truth, one’s opponent can be
persuaded to have a change of heart, he
was reaching beyond the conventional “possible” in politics.
When
a wide range of bhakti poet-saints across India,
through different times, urged us to look for god
within and find divinity in our fellow travellers, they
were turning the impossible into possible.
So,
one way to honour the anniversary of Imagine is
to locate it in the wider reality within which it
was written. After all, Lennon
later gave interviews saying that much of
the song was taken from Yoko
Ono’s book Grapefruit.
The Indian dimension
of the Imagine spirit is still older. Sahir Ludhianvi’s Woh
subah kabhi to aayegi was written in 1958.
Shailendra wrote Kisi ki muskurahaton pe ho nisaar in 1959. Kishore
Kumar wrote Aa chalke tujhe main leke chaloon in 1964.
These sterling examples of still-living, often-sung songs, show how
this spirit has had a life of its own in
India’s popular culture.
If you are a
die-hard sceptic, it is easy to dismiss these songs as a
poet’s fantasy. But these poets were not preoccupied with a
Neverland. Instead, they were expressing hopes and ideals that
had tangible political form in their times. This was notably
manifested in, but not limited to, the Progressive
Writers’ Association.
The songs referred
to above reaffirmed an ancient human longing —
to live peacefully with each other and with
the natural world. They drew simultaneously
on ancient roots, like the Sanskrit prayer in the Brihadaranyaka
Upanishad which begins “Sarve bhavantu sukhinah” (may all sentient
beings be at peace) as well as on a contemporary politics of brotherhood
and unconditional dignity for all.
These aspirations
were never limited to, or containable in, specific ideologies —
be it communism, socialism or any shade of liberalism.
Today,
in part, the Imagine spirit is manifest in certain
regional terms becoming globally familiar. So ubuntu from
Africa, which roughly translates as “you are therefore I am”,
inspires people across the world. From Latin America, buen
vivir, the good life, carries the same resonance
of mutual aid and fruitful interdependence. From India sarvodaya,
well-being and upliftment of all, is invoked across the world by
those who — as Lennon urged — “imagine all
the people, sharing all the world”.
The dark cloud which seems to hang over
the Imagine spirit may have little to do with material circumstances
and more to do with our failure to locate the
spirit in the completeness of life.
We
can more rigorously live by this spirit if
we take to heart what I learnt from Om Prakash
Rawal, a gentle Gandhian-socialist politician from Madhya Pradesh. In
the 1980s, Rawalji was an elderly guiding light at many
activist gatherings, where at some point we
inevitably sang Aa chalke tujhe main leke chaloon.
One day Rawalji reflected on the second line of
the song about a world with no tears, no sorrow and only love.
“How can this be?”
he asked. “How can there be love in a world where
there is no sorrow?”
The religious life of Indians, according to
a recent survey
Pratap Bhanu Mehta
writes: Indians are committed to religious diversity, but exclusionary and segmented
in toleration, and tempted by authoritarianism.
This survey confirms the
staggeringly high degree of religiosity that seems not
to decline with education or class.
The
just released Pew Research Centre Report, Religion
and India: Tolerance and Segregation, based
on serious survey data with almost 30,000
respondents, is a one-of-a-kind glimpse into the complex interplay of religion,
identity and politics in India. All surveys have significant
limitations. But this is the only major, relatively credible survey
we have of Indian religious attitudes, and so it is
worth reflecting on its findings, with all caveats in mind.
India emerges from
the survey as an overwhelmingly religious country, across all religions.
But this is also true of every dimension of religion from ritual
observance to social identity, belief and practice. In
his last book, Religion’s Sudden Decline, the doyen
of value surveys, Ronald Inglehart had argued based on survey data that
between 2007 and 2019, the world had generally become less religious;
43 out of the 49 countries studied showed a
marked decline in religion. The big exception to
this story was India, where religiosity increased. This survey
confirms the staggeringly high degree of religiosity
that seems not to decline with education or class.
The second stark
fact is that the ideology of respect for religion is
very high, nearly identical across all religious groups.
For instance, 80 per cent of Hindus and 79 per cent of
Muslims say that respecting other religions is a
very important part of their religious identity; and 78 per cent
of Muslims and 85 per cent of Hindus think it
is important to being truly Indian. Twenty-four per cent of both
Hindus and Muslims think religious
diversity harms the country. Interestingly, there
is little belief in reincarnation. But the numbers of
those believing in the doctrine of karma
is identical amongst Hindus and Muslims. The religious sensibilities
are similar.
But
then things get a bit more complicated. Religious
sensibilities are similar, but they eschew anything common. Religious
groups claim to know less about each other’s practices. As
the title of the report indicates, Indian religious
identities are segregated. India is committed to an ideology of toleration
but practices what I elsewhere called segmented toleration:
Each community has its place so long as
each stays in its place. The drawing of boundaries is
quite sharp. Stopping religious intermarriage for
both men and women is a very high priority
for almost 70 per cent Hindus and Muslims. While 45 per cent Hindus
are fine with having a neighbour from any religion, 45 per cent do
not want a member of another religion as a neighbour.
Incidentally, 61 per cent of Jains would exclude Muslims, Sikhs and
Christians from being their neighbour. The rate of inter-religious
conversion is very low, less than one per cent, though Hindus gain as much as
they lose. There is regional variation, with Christianity being
a small net gainer in south India.
Food practices remain the strongest marker of
religious observance: Eating beef or eating pork is
just about the only thing that two-thirds of your
co-religionists believe will disqualify you from that
religion.
The
segmentation continues in terms of caste. Opposition to
caste intermarriage is only slightly less than religious
intermarriage, but declines more with college education. It
is higher amongst Muslims, 70 per cent of whom oppose
inter-caste marriage for men, compared to 63 per cent
Hindus. Thirty-five per cent Indians self-identify as Other Backward Castes.
But
the puzzle the data might throw up is on discrimination.
In aggregate only 20 per cent Indians say caste
discrimination exists; even amongst SCs,
this number is only 27 per cent, and amongst OBCs 18 per cent. It
is highest in the Northeast, and reported discrimination by Dalits
is highest in the south at 30 per cent. But
the numbers on religious discrimination
are even more interesting. Only 24 per cent of
Muslims say there is a lot of discrimination against
Muslims; but 16 per cent of Muslims say there is discrimination
against Hindus. Seventeen per cent of Hindus say there is
a lot of discrimination against Muslims, but 20 per cent perceive
discrimination against Hindus. So, on this basis, India does not come out as a
hugely discriminatory society. But this finding could also be
consistent with another interpretation — it might turn on how
norms of discrimination are understood. In segmented societies,
discrimination is not a category since exclusion is taken as an
acceptable norm. The possibility of discrimination requires
inhabiting same spaces, competing
for same things, sharing social worlds. It is
quite possible for an exclusionary society to think it is
not discriminating. We have not even progressed from
exclusion to discrimination.
Nationalism is
very strong in India, across all communities. Eighty per cent of
Muslims support all markers of national loyalty, and only
on the national anthem is the gap between them and Hindus
11 points. More Muslims than Hindus think that the Partition of
India was on balance bad, though this number is
the highest for Sikhs, 66 per cent of whom think it was
bad. A majority of Muslims are against triple talaq, though two-thirds
would prefer their own courts in matters of personal law.
About half of all Indians support authoritarian rule,
but across communities. But the survey finds very strong evidence for
Hindu nationalism. Sixty-four per cent Hindus think being a Hindu/or
identification with Hindi is necessary for being a good Indian;
this number rises with support for the BJP and
is lowest in south India. But even there it is 42
per cent.
What implications
this has for politics is an open question, but the potent combination
of exclusionary benchmarks of nationalism and authoritarianism
are present. In terms of issues that matter most
to people, unemployment, corruption crime, and, very importantly,
violence against women rank as the top issues of
concern, but 65 per cent also name communal violence as a
major issue of concern. And concern with communal
violence seems to rise if the area has
just experienced a riot.
Currently, there is
a great appetite for fusing religion and politics — religious
observance and nationalism are being increasingly identified.
Interestingly, two-thirds of members of all
communities think it is fine for politicians
to get entangled with religion. Politics can,
oddly enough, make a society profess religion more. But we
know from comparative evidence that there is a flip side. That
when deep disenchantment with politics sets in, it
will also rebound on religion.
The
overall picture of India in the survey is of a
religious country, ideologically committed to religious diversity, but
exclusionary and segmented in its toleration, with less support for
individual freedom, increasingly committed to Hindutva benchmarks of national identity,
and tempted by authoritarianism. Will this trend continue? God
and nation will decide.
The cost of China’s economic achievements
China and
CPC's success has come at the cost of rural-urban
inequality and enviromental degradation
Chinese President Xi Jinping
Written by
Manoranjan Mohanty
The
Communist Party of China (CPC), which observed the
centenary of its founding on July 1 with a very assertive speech by
Xi Jinping, has much to celebrate and
the world, even a divided one, has to acknowledge its
accomplishments. A country which suffered oppression by
multiple colonial powers and extreme poverty
and frequent famines is today a global power with modern industrial strength.
It has lifted nearly 800 million out of absolute
poverty.
The victory of
the CPC-led revolution in 1949 and founding of the People’s Republic
of China (PRC) and the launching of the economic reforms in 1978 are
major landmarks in this story. That China has effectively
handled the challenge of the pandemic, revived its economy
and sent a mission to Mars makes the
occasion more joyful for it.
Xi announced the achievement of
the goal of building a “moderately well-off society in all respects”,
set at the 16th Party Congress in 2002, besides underlining,
in strong terms, China’s determination
to defend its territorial identity.
This
is also a time to reflect on
the nature of CPC’s century-old mission articulated with
a fresh perspective from time to time.
What seems to be the running thread, irrespective of
leadership changes, is the commitment to building China into
a modern industrial nation that competes with
the West — a goal set by
the late 19th century reformers who wanted a
rich country and a strong nation. The CPC, born in the
aftermath of the anti-imperialist May Fourth Movement of 1919,
has turned out to be the most powerful instrument to
accomplish that nationalist goal.
Xi has pursued
a determined policy of establishing the party’s direct role
in every aspect of decision-making, even encouraging an
ideological line in his own name — the Xi
Jinping Thought in a New Era. On democracy, he has
a different position, defending China’s unique system,
and that is bound to invite questions. His foreign and
domestic policies — the Belt and Road Initiative and
Cooperative, Comprehensive Security, refocusing the economy towards domestic
consumption while continuing to produce selective goods for
the global market under the Dual Circulation concept, orienting
“Make in China” towards innovative fifth and sixth
generation technology, and the new urbanisation and zonal
development programmes — are all markers of the modernity mission.
At a time when
Western industrialisation has come in for critical scrutiny due to
the enormous damage it has wrought on
the natural environment and
generated social inequalities and regional disparities in
all countries — fault lines that have become sharper in
the wake of Covid-19 — China’s persistence
with the Western path may be a disappointment. For sure, every
generation of CPC’s leadership
has tried to make China’s path different from
that of the West’s. Several analysts regard the Mao period from
1949 to 1976 as attempts to steer China on
a different path. They highlight the Great Leap
Forward, People’s Communes of 1958-1960 and the Cultural Revolution
of 1966-1976 as experiments in radical socialist policies with
seriously adverse consequences such as famine deaths,
political persecution and killings. But even during those
turbulent years, building industrial
and military strength and conducting scientific and
technological research in collaboration
with friendly foreign countries was an
underlying theme in Chinese government policies.
After Deng
Xiaoping invited Western financial capital and technological knowhow
and launched the Reform and Open Door Policy in 1978,
this process got into full swing. Deng’s successor
Jiang Zemin, who took over as CPC General Secretary in the
wake of the suppression of the Tiananmen uprising in 1989, pursued this
industrialisation policy with great vigour. The result of this
strategy is China’s great economic success. From a per
capita national income of about $250 in
1980, China has reached over $10,000 in
2020 even though it
still remains a lower middle-income country.
China has
emerged as not only the world’s second largest economy
but seems poised to overtake the US in 2036 — it has, in
fact, surpassed the US in many areas of high-tech.
So much so that President Biden has announced a long-term
strategy of maintaining US dominance in these concerned fields.
The urge to
be different has always prompted CCP leaders to add new dimensions
to the modernisation strategy. When Hu Jintao succeeded Jiang in
2002, the problem of rising income inequality and
rural-urban gap as well
as increasing environmental pollution in China was
widely discussed in the country and abroad. China’s carbon
emission surpassed that of the US around 2009 and the Gini coefficient
has remained between 43 and 49 for the past decade.
The Hu Jintao
regime took several initiatives, packaged as building a
“Harmonious Society”. It also gave the slogan of turning China into
a “Beautiful Country” by taking a large number of
anti-pollution, energy-saving measures.
The
industrialisation drive has, however, persisted
and China remains the world’s top carbon emitter.
Rural-urban income gap has increased — the average urban
income being nearly five times that of the rural.
While better living conditions have greatly benefitted
the lives of women at home, the employment pattern and
political representation in
decision-making shows continuing patriarchal domination. China’s success story has taken it
into a “success trap”.
Xi
has taken this modernisation mission forward — with
its successes, limitations and problems —
by focusing on what he calls a “New Era”. Coming
to power after the 2008 global economic crisis which brought the
weakness of the Western system into sharp relief, he has
affirmed that China’s economic success means that it’s
a legitimate big player. The CPC’s centenary celebrations — as well
as that of the founding of PRC in 2049 — have been imbued with
concrete political and economic agenda. Xi’s policies have to
be understood in this backdrop.
In
the recent weeks, Xi has been emphasising the need for
the Party’s 91 million members, especially
the youth who constitute some 40 per cent of the membership, to
recall the “original aspiration” of the founders. That vision of socialism
and communism seems to have become a platform of
nationalist mobilisation as China celebrated the gains of a
“moderately prosperous society”. The commitment to modern industrialisation,
and the larger process of “modernisation”,
is even more explicit in the goal set for the second
centenary in 2049 — building China into a
“great modern strong prosperous socialist country”. Xi
affirmed that goal on July 1.
Architect
of war
Donald
Rumsfeld’s legacy will be the mess in West Asia
and erosion of US’s moral credibility
For
Rumsfeld had the twin
conceits of many
In the aftermath of the
outrage over torture and
July 3, 1981, Forty Years Ago:
Assam Talks Stumble
Meanwhile,
the talks remained suspended with the AASU and the
AAGSP insisting that Home Minister Giani Zail Singh and the
official committee be present at any meeting with them.
Relentless heavy rains in
the past few days have claimed at least
30 lives in Mainpuri, Aligarh and Agra towns in Uttar
Pradesh.
Peeved at the
legalistic quibbling by the Assam agitation leaders,
the government had at
one point agreed to hand over
the entire question of foreign nationals in Assam to a judicial
commission headed by a former judge. But the Assam agitators backed
out. The All Assam Students’ Union and the All Assam Gana Sangram Parishad
apparently prefer to discuss with a politician than argue
their case before a judge. Meanwhile,
the talks remained suspended with the AASU and the
AAGSP insisting that Home Minister Giani Zail Singh and the
official committee be present at any meeting with them.
Revolt In Congress
The infighting in
the Congress (I)-led
Rajasthan government took a serious turn with
22-pro Jagannath Pahadia legislators demanding the resignation of
Chandan Mal Baid, food and civil supplies minister. They accused Baid of
shielding hoarders, blackmarketeers, smugglers and adulterators.
Rains Take A
Toll
Relentless heavy rains in
the past few days have claimed at least
30 lives in Mainpuri, Aligarh and Agra towns in Uttar
Pradesh. Western UP had torrential rains for 72 hours.
Life was totally paralysed in the three towns because of the
inundation of large parts and disruption of approaches to them
from contiguous areas.
Delhi Durbar
The entire reconstituted
ministry of Madhya Pradesh along with parliamentary secretaries
is travelling to Delhi to seek the blessings of Prime
Minister Indira Gandhi and the Amethi MP Rajiv Gandhi. Some MLAs
are also reportedly in the queue to attend the Delhi
Durbar. Chief Minister Arjun Singh reportedly asked his colleagues
to pay their respects to the PM and Rajiv.
Xi’s party
His strong power strategy
will have consequences for the Chinese
Communist Party and China itself in the coming years
No one defines the
anxiety more than Xi, who took charge of the CCP in 2012
and as president of China in 2013.
The celebration of
the Chinese Communist Party’s centenary in Beijing on Thursday was
not just about the past; it was also about
its future under Xi Jinping. The CCP’s achievements in
unifying the Chinese nation, promoting its prosperity, and elevating
its international position are indeed historic. That there was little room for
a critical reflection of the party’s past failures and current problems,
however, suggests deepening Chinese insecurity in Beijing rather than
self-assurance. No one defines the anxiety more than Xi,
who took charge of the CCP in 2012 and as president
of China in 2013.
Under Xi, any
questioning of the leadership or its policies is now equated with
“political nihilism”. Xi has tightened CCP’s control over all state
institutions. By leveraging the new digital technologies,
Xi’s party-state has also crushed all political expression
of difference, let alone dissent, within the society.
Whatever the political justifications for the
CCP’s current approach might be, there
is little credibility to Xi’s decision to discard collective
leadership, concentrate all power in
his own hands, and promote a cult around his persona.
On top of it all, Xi has signalled the determination to
perpetuate himself in power by removing the constitutional
two-term limit on his office. At first glance, these point to
the current strengths of Xi. But
they might well prove to be
the greatest vulnerability of the CCP in the coming decade. By
dismantling the rules designed to
facilitate smooth political succession, Xi is
courting future instability in the CCP.
Xi’s strategy to
overcome the natural play of intra-party politics is rooted
in whipping up assertive nationalism and presenting himself as the
champion of China’s great rejuvenation and the architect of its
transformation into
the world’s strongest nation. Securing national sovereignty
in the restive provinces of Xinjiang and Tibet, fully integrating Hong Kong,
and completing Taiwan’s unification
with China are top priorities for Xi. In
his address at the Tiananmen Square Thursday,
Xi declared that the Chinese people will never allow foreign forces “to
bully, oppress or enslave us”, and warned that
whoever tries do so “will crack their heads and
spill blood on
the Great Wall of steel built from the flesh
and blood of 1.4 billion Chinese people”. While this
rhetoric plays well
at home, China is losing friends abroad with its aggressive approach
to disputes with other nations. Xi’s claim that it does
not bully other nations rings hollow among its
Asian neighbours, including India, that have been at
the receiving end of China’s land grab. China’s long-standing
admirers in the US and Europe are increasingly wary of its predatory economic
policies and wolf warrior diplomacy. Xi’s claim
to offer his repressive system as an alternative to liberal
democracy has locked him in an ideological fight with the West.
The triumphal moment of the CCP’s centennial
can’t hide the dangerous path that Xi
has put the party on at home and abroad.
The HINDU
In centenary backdrop, this is no hand of peace
Beijing’s recent
and muscular behaviour towards India could stem from deeper tensions within
China
An atmosphere of
unpredictability prevails as regards India-China relations, even as China
embarks on its 100th anniversary celebrations of the foundation of the
Communist Party of China (CPC). Memories of the bloodiest clash in recent
decades that occurred in the Galwan Heights in June last year, are still vivid
in India’s memory. The situation in Eastern Ladakh currently remains tense.
After some progress in talks over troop disengagement in the vicinity of
Pangong Tso Lake and the Kailash ranges, matters have since reached a
stalemate. Meanwhile, there is new information on China’s manoeuvres in the
border regions across Ladakh. China is reportedly raising new militia units
comprising local Tibetan youth, to be deployed in Eastern Ladakh, for both high
altitude warfare and surveillance. India has, meanwhile, been expressing its
concern to China about the continuing ‘close up deployments’, which has only
produced a strong verbal riposte from China.
All this has left
an indelible imprint on the state of relations between the two Asian giants,
who share a several thousand kilometre land border. Answers to the question as
to why China chose to attack Indian positions in Ladakh, without any
provocation, causing the death of a platoon of soldiers belonging to the Bihar
Regiment, are still not forthcoming. An answer needs to be found before a reset
in India-China relations can take place.
Global concerns
India’s concerns
about China are grounded in reality. Other nations today have, however, begun
expressing concern about the threat posed by China to the existing world order.
During the past month, both the G-7 and North Atlantic Treaty Organization, have
criticised China for its military ambitions and the threat it posed to world
peace. China is, however, unlikely to be deterred by any of this, and its
mindset is best revealed by its actions in the South and East China Seas, its
treatment of its Uighur Muslim minority, and its actions in Hong Kong.
A lesser nation
might be deterred by the kind of criticism that China faces today, but it does
not seem to impact China. Moreover, and notwithstanding the hype surrounding
India’s membership of the Quad and the role assigned to it by the United States
and the other western powers in the Indo-Pacific, to think that this may have
rattled China, compelling it to indulge in actions that verge on the erratic
would be a mistake. China could be expected to have fully catered for all such
eventualities.
Going back into the
past
We may, hence, need
to look elsewhere to find a proper explanation for China’s behaviour vis-à-vis
India, and also elsewhere. Delving into China’s recent past, and examining
periods when it possibly acted in a similar erratic manner, may provide some
clues. In the late 1950s and 1960s, China’s then Chairman, Mao Tse Tung/Mao
Zedong, when finding himself in a difficult situation on account of his
ill-conceived policies and programmes (history tells us that Mao confronted one
of the worst famines in history on account of his misadventure of the Great
Leap Forward Movement) rather than accepting his mistake and retracing his
steps, embarked on his campaign to attack India, in spite of the close friendship
that existed at the time between the two countries.
Later, it was
surmised, that Mao’s actions were intended partly to divert attention from
China’s internal turmoils at the time, and possibly more important, to counter
the dissidents who existed within the CPC, and who were critical of Mao’s
autocratic attitude and his ill-conceived policies. Other instances of this
kind exist and can be quoted: Deng Xiaoping’s behaviour following the Tiananmen
Square movement in the 1980s, is an excellent example.
A leader in a hurry
Xi Jinping is seen
today as a Mao clone, someone who seeks to achieve the same kind of dominance
over the CPC as the latter. Like Mao, he is a man in a hurry, seeking to
consolidate his power and achieve a pre-eminence of the kind enjoyed by Chinese
Emperors in the past. He has assiduously attempted to accelerate the pace at
which China expects to overtake the U.S. as the world’s number one super power
which, however, seems to be stalling for a variety of reasons. China’s attempt,
under Mr. Xi, to become the world’s most powerful military is also nowhere in
sight.
On the other hand,
China’s misadventure in the Ladakh heights in June last year, exposed certain
shortfalls with regard to mechanisation of China’s People’s Liberation Army
(PLA), diminishing the latter’s hopes of becoming fully mechanised by the time
the PLA celebrates its Centenary in 2027. Much of the blame for both situations
is being attributed to Mr. Xi. Given the extent of concentration of power in
his hands, this is leading many in the Party to question Mr. Xi’s claims to
omniscience.
Apart from this,
several of Mr. Xi’s other ideas have run into difficulties. His plans to remake
the global order on terms favourable to the CPC seem to have gone awry. The
Chinese economy — though performing better than most other world economies — is
showing signs of slowing down. Mr. Xi had been betting on technological prowess
and economic heft to achieve the kind of geo-political transformation that he
wished for, but this is clearly not happening at present.
Most important, and
despite having accumulated so much power, Mr. Xi seems to be finding it
difficult to push through his ‘new socialist ideology with Chinese
characteristics’ (through which he hoped to demarcate himself from his immediate
predecessors like Hu Jintao) and is intended to be his lasting legacy.
There are some clues
Undoubtedly,
therefore, Mr. Xi is finding himself in a difficult situation, including within
the Party. There is an old Chinese proverb that says “the wind sweeping through
the tower heralds a storm rising in the mountain” and this, perhaps, provides a
clue to Mr. Xi’s, and Chinese, behaviour in the recent period. The extent of
inner-party tensions is little known to the world outside, given the opacity of
Chinese society, but the existence of dissidence or dissension within the CPC
is no secret, however.
It is tempting to
think that history is again being repeated, and China’s recent erratic behaviour
is largely due to growing inner-party criticism of Mr. Xi’s policies and
actions, rather than due to extraneous factors. The Ladakh adventure (or
misadventure) could well have been a misguided attempt by Mr. Xi to demonstrate
to his opponents within the CPC that he is well and truly in command. One could
also anticipate that this could well be a prelude to a limited purge of
dissenters within the highest echelons of the CPC.
An accumulation of
problems does produce in closed societies (such as China) a ‘pressure cooker’
syndrome, where the safety valve is often in the hands of the leadership. If
the latter is precariously poised, and out of sync with reality, it leads to
erratic behaviour. What may be aggravating Chinese leadership concerns at this
time also is that the world is seemingly tilting towards India at this
juncture, regarding it as more sophisticated, diplomatically, and more
flexible, ideologically, compared to an increasingly obdurate China. Within the
CPC itself, there are reportedly quite a few who prefer ‘peaceful coexistence’
to sustain peace, as compared to Mr. Xi’s more muscular approaches.
India needs to be
on guard
A final thought. It
is worth remembering that Mr. Xi is one of the few world leaders known to have
made a study of Goethe’s works, including Faust. Not only that, some of Mr.
Xi’s actions, such as modelling himself on Mao and a practising advocate of
Maoism 2.0 — despite the humiliation both he and his father suffered at the
hands of Mao prior to, and during the Cultural Revolution — tend to make him
out to be something of a Faustian character. Was Mr. Xi, through his aggressive
behaviour in Ladakh, and notwithstanding the warm relations that he is known to
have with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, preparing the ground for a
‘Faustian Bargain’. If so, Mr. Xi has made yet another serious miscalculation,
not only about the ground situation but also the mood of the nation and its
leadership. This could cost him dear. What all this suggests is that ‘peace is
not at hand’, and that India should expect, and prepare for, more situations of
this kind, with many more provocations coming from China
Unjust green: On vaccine passports
India must continue
to monitor discrimination in vaccine passports issue
July 3, 2021
The European
Union’s decision to enforce a “Green Pass” to allow travel within the EU from
July 1, and linked to specified vaccines, has set off a storm of protest from
several quarters including India. According to the European Medicines Agency
(EMA) that sets the guidelines, the vaccines given “conditional marketing authorisation”
were Comirnaty (Pfizer/BioNTech), Vaccine Janssen (Johnson & Johnson),
Spikevax (Moderna) and Vaxzevria (AstraZeneca), which makes it clear that
neither of India’s vaccines, Covishield and Covaxin, as well as Russia’s and
China’s, would be eligible for the EU Digital COVID Certificate (EUDCC), as the
Green Pass is formally called. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar took up
the exclusion strongly with EU authorities this week, particularly the case of
Covishield, which is made under licensing and certification from AstraZeneca,
and cleared by WHO. India has argued that the entire idea of “vaccine
passports” would leave developing nations and the global south at a
disadvantage, as they have restricted vaccine access. An unspoken but valid criticism
is that there is a hint of racism in the action — the EMA list only includes
vaccines already used by Europe and North America. A letter of protest on the
EMA’s decision was also issued by the African Union and the Africa CDC this
week, which called Covishield the “backbone” of the COVAX alliance’s programme,
that has been administered in many African countries. The EMA list is not
binding however, and countries can choose to include others individually. After
India’s vocal protests, and its subtle threat to impose reciprocal measures, at
least a third of the EU has said they would recognise Covishield (Estonia has
accepted Covishield and Covaxin).
While the news that
Austria, Estonia, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia,
Spain and Switzerland (not an EU member) have accommodated India’s concerns is
welcome, there are still some hurdles before Indian travellers. Most of these
countries are not at present accepting Indian travellers at all, as no
non-essential travel is allowed to EU countries, and the spread of the Delta
variant, first identified in India, has meant further travel restrictions. In
addition, Indians who have taken doses of Covaxin will need to wait even
longer, until this vaccine receives WHO clearance. Finally, as more nations
complete their vaccine programmes, they will seek to tighten their border
controls with “vaccine passports” and longer quarantines in order to curtail
the spread of new variants. While it is necessary for the Government to keep up
with these actions worldwide, and battle discriminatory practices, the real
imperative remains to vaccinate as many Indians as possible, given that more
than six months after the Indian inoculation programme began, only 4.4% of
those eligible have been fully vaccinated.
Rural power solutions even other States can emulate
As a recent ruling
by Rajasthan’s power regulator implies, enabling energy access must go beyond
powering rural homes
Over the past
decade, India has made great strides in expanding energy access in rural areas.
Credible estimates suggest a near doubling of electrified rural households,
from 55% in 2010 to 96% in 2020 (World Bank, 2021).
However, the
measure of access to power supply, has been the number of households that have
been connected to the electricity grid. While this is a significant measure, it
discounts large areas of essential and productive human activities such as
public schools and primary health centres. And despite greater electrification,
power supply is often unreliable in rural areas.
A recent ruling by
Rajasthan’s power regulator points to this yawning gap, but also suggests
solutions that other States could emulate. The Rajasthan Electricity Regulatory
Commission (RERC) has ordered the State’s three power distribution companies,
or discoms (the Jaipur, Ajmet and Jodhpur Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited) to
solarise unelectrified public schools. This has the potential to electrify
about 1,500 government-run schools in the remote parts of the State with
roof-top solar panels and generate about 15 megawatts (MW) of power. The RERC
has also suggested installation of batteries to ensure storage of power.
Apart from enabling
education, this ruling would benefit several other crucial aspects of rural
life. Government schools serve as public spaces in rural areas. They doubled up
as COVID-19 care centres in the past year and have housed villagers from
extreme weather such as storms and floods, apart from turning into polling
centres come election season.
Battery storage of
power ensures that they cater to children’s after-school activities. Schools
could also extend power supply to mid-day meal kitchens, toilets, and motorised
water pumps and not limit it to powering fans and lights in classrooms.
The RERC order also
directs Rajasthan’s cash-strapped discoms to seek corporate social
responsibility (CSR) funds for the solarising drive and allows schools
ownership of the power systems in a phased manner. This removes the burden of
infrastructure development expenses on discoms, while also ensuring clean
energy for the schools.
The power that is
generated could also be counted towards the discoms’ Renewable Purchase
Obligations (RPO). RPO is the proportion of power that distribution companies
must procure from renewable sources. This ratio is a gradual annual progression
to encourage greater use of renewable energy and to provide for a phased manner
to reduce dependence on climate warming fossil fuels.
Achieving a target
In 2019, Rajasthan
set itself an ambitious target of producing 30 GW of solar energy by 2025 (Rajasthan
government, 2019). It currently has an installed capacity of about 5 GW, most
of which are from large-scale utility plants, or solar parks with
ground-mounted panels. The State must install at least 7 GW every year for the
next four years to achieve this target. This is not impossible, but it would
require investment and installation on a war footing.
While Rajasthan is
India’s largest State in terms of land mass with vast, sparsely populated
tracts available to install solar parks, bulk infrastructure of this scale is
susceptible to extreme weather events. With climate change increasing the
possibility of such events, a decentralised model of power generation would
prove to be more climate resilient.
Taking a cue from
the RERC ruling, a greater number of public buildings could be used to install
roof-top solar panels. Buildings such as primary health centres, panchayat
offices, railway stations and bus stops could easily be transitioned to
utilising clean energy. And with battery storage, the susceptibility of grid
infrastructure to extreme weather events could be mitigated. This is called
climate proofing.
For instance,
the power blackout in the American State of Texas due to an extreme weather
event earlier this year was caused due to inadequately climate-proofed natural
gas equipment, which supplied domestic electricity. While the State’s Governor
Greg Abbott blamed it on frozen wind turbines and solar panels, about 70% of
power that is generated in Texas is from natural gas and coal-fired power
plants. Windmill power is about 20% and solar is a mere 1.1%.
Large-scale
projects are generally financed by companies that wish to profit from economies
of scale. They are less interested in investing in rural electricity as it is
not as lucrative. Large-grid based projects add to the supply of power in urban
areas, and therefore, only marginally further greater energy access goals.
As solar
installations become inexpensive and with rapidly advancing battery storage
technologies, decentralised solar power generation has become a reality. A
State such as Rajasthan, which is most exposed to solar irradiation, could set
an example by making its urban and rural centres, power generators, consumers,
and suppliers in the same breath. Indeed, its government has an ambitious plan
to catapult the State into being a power “exporter”, but it must consider the
possibility of achieving this through means that do not destroy the environment
and are most productive, cost-effective, and optimal for human activity
Net loss: On Internet access to schools
The Centre must
help provide Internet links to all schools as an essential service
The digital divide
in India’s school education system, reflected by the absence of computers and
Internet access on campus, emerges starkly from the Education Ministry’s
Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+), for the
pre-pandemic year of 2019-20. Physical infrastructure has traditionally meant
good buildings, playgrounds, libraries and access to water and toilets, but the
advent of hybrid learning even ahead of the coronavirus crisis has made
essential online access and computers key adjuncts to make the learning process
more engaging. During 2020-21, it became painfully evident that most students
had to rely on remote learning, but many faced the double jeopardy of not
possessing their own computing devices and smartphones at home, and their
schools remaining in the dark without such facilities. In remote areas,
particularly in the Northeast, many had to travel closer to mobile phone towers
to access the Internet on shared phones to get their lessons. The latest data
confirm that a mere 22% of schools across the country on average had Internet
access, while government institutions fared much worse at 11%. On the second
metric of functional computer access, the national average was 37% and for
government schools, 28.5%. Beyond the averages, the range of deficits reflects
deep asymmetries: 87.84% of Kerala schools and 85.69% in Delhi had an Internet
facility, compared to 6.46% in Odisha, 8.5% in Bihar, 10% in West Bengal and
13.62% in Uttar Pradesh.
Students and
teachers not being able to use computers and the Internet is acknowledged to be
a form of deprivation, especially during the pandemic, just as the inability to
attend in-person classes is another. Many scholars see the teaching-learning
process as multi-dimensional, helping to inculcate social skills. COVID-19 has,
however, compelled all countries to evaluate hybrid education models, with a
mix of lessons delivered virtually now and on campus later when the virus
threat abates. In such a multi-layered process, bringing computers and the
Internet to all schools cannot be delayed any longer. The Centre must explore
all options, such as the National Broadband Mission, the BSNL network and other
service providers, to connect schools, including all government institutions
that are severely deprived; the upcoming 5G standard with the benefit of high
wireless bandwidth may also be able to help bridge the gap quickly. Getting
computers to schools should also not be difficult because, apart from public
funding, communities, corporates and hardware makers can use recycling and
donation options. The UDISE+ shows that many schools have fallen through the
net, and they need urgent help to get connected.
Change, but no
closure, in Plachimada
Video Experience Of
Kerala'S Monsoon Season, A Video Tour Of The Centralised Covid Control, Oxygen
War Room
In Plachimada, a
small Adivasi village in Palakkad district of Kerala, a building, once
infamous, was lying derelict and abandoned until recently. Overrun by weeds and
bushes, it was hard to imagine that this building was once the bottling plant
of Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages, the Indian subsidiary of the Atlanta-based
manufacturer of aerated drinks. Spread over 34 acres, the 35,000 sq ft ‘Coke
building’, as it is referred to by the locals, used to look haunted. Winds
would whistle through broken windowpanes and snakes would lie hidden in the thick
undergrowth. People rarely loitered in the area.
Today, the
sprawling single-storey edifice wears a fresh coat of paint. The ‘Coca-Cola’
logo has disappeared from the entrance of the building, which smells of
disinfectants and paint. The contested site now serves an important purpose, to
meet the challenges of the times. The Government of Kerala has spruced up and
converted the building into a COVID-19 care facility. The company that had once
caused grief to the locals closed the plant and left long ago, but the building
remained a symbol of despair. While the government believes that it has now
become a sign of hope for all those affected by the raging pandemic, the
villagers of Plachimada are not as enthused.
A transformed space
The miraculous
transformation took barely six weeks. The local bodies, helmed by the Perumatty
Grama Panchayat in Palakkad, led the efforts. The building had caught the
attention of the local administrators during the peak of the second COVID-19
wave in May. Palakkad was seeing more than 3,500 infections every day on
average and a test positivity rate of more than 30%. The State Minister for
Power, K. Krishnankutty, who wields great influence in the eastern Chittur
belt, including the Perumatty Grama Panchayat, is largely credited for
converting the Coke building into a healthcare facility with a clear eye on a
possible third wave of the pandemic sweeping across the district.
It was important
for the administration to ensure that the building was swiftly transformed. In
May, discussions on the project assumed a sense of urgency. In just a day,
200-odd volunteers under the leadership of the Perumatty Grama Panchayat
president, Risha Premkumar, cleared the weeds and bushes in the compound of the
plant. Eight neighbouring panchayats under the Chittur Block joined hands and
offered to donate up to ₹10 lakh each when the District Disaster Management
Authority and the Chittur Block Panchayat chipped in ₹30 lakh each. With ₹1.4
crore in their pocket, the authorities were excited to take up the work of the
new COVID-19 care centre. Officials in Coca-Cola chipped in too, offering their
corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds to renovate the building. According
to sources in the government, Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages has spent ₹60 lakh
from its CSR funds in three phases, including to repair the building. Officials
of the company refused to speak to this reporter.
With money flowing
in, new toilets were built and water facilities arranged. Apart from electrical
partitioning and plumbing work, the Nirmithi Kendra arranged cots, beds, and
electrical fittings. A new spacious kitchen was set up with facilities to cater
to more than 600 people. Engineers with experience in the medical field oversaw
the setting up of a triage facility and sheds for biomedical waste disposal.
With everyone working at a frenzied pace, the goal was accomplished in about
six weeks.
Chief Minister
Pinarayi Vijayan could barely conceal his excitement when he inaugurated the
hospital virtually on June 17. He was all praise not only for the officials of
Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages but also for all those who worked to build the
treatment centre. “Four weeks is record time in setting up such a huge
facility. The Plachimada treatment centre will give us a fillip in the fight
against COVID-19. The centre will be most suited for COVID-19 treatment as it
is located quite a distance away from areas where people live,” he said.
The care facility
has 550 beds. Of them, 100 are oxygen beds, 50 are ICU beds and 20 have
ventilators. It also has air-conditioned ready-made cabins, a portable X-ray
console, a round-the-clock pharmacy, and a COVID-19 outpatient wing. The
capacity of the oxygen tank set up at the centre can be enhanced from 1 KL to 2
KL.
At the time of
going to press, 40 COVID-19 patients had sought admission at the facility. “The
infrastructure is right. We can accommodate 400 patients now. Very soon, we
will raise it to full capacity,” said Nenmara Divisional Forest Officer R.
Sivaprasad, the nodal officer of the centre. Doctors and nurses have been
appointed to take care of 200 patients round the clock. The patients here are
not as fearful and concerned about the virus as those in other parts of the
State. For now, none of them is critically ill. At present, only B-category
patients are being admitted.
A water-guzzling
plant
The unusual silence
in the hospital is in contrast to the pitched struggle of the people in
Plachimada some two decades ago. The people don’t show the same excitement that
politicians and the government authorities display about the COVID-19 care
facility.
Santhi C.S., a
43-year-old Adivasi woman who was at the forefront of the agitation against
Coca-Cola, said: “The people of this village are still suffering. We haven’t
been given a single paisa of compensation. So, how can we smile?”
Many who were part
of the agitation echoed her sentiments. They said that applauding the
transformation of a plant that had destroyed their water resources would amount
to “making fun of the cause for which they stood”. Santhi, an ASHA worker, had
been jailed several times along with other leaders of the agitation. She had
also undergone a week-long hunger strike. “They are cheating us. These
political leaders have their vested interests,” she said.
Wariness about
official promises and initiatives stems from the events in Plachimada that
grabbed global attention in the early 2000s. A few months after Hindustan
Coca-Cola Beverages began operation in Plachimada in 2000, the villagers in the
neighbouring areas began to face problems. According to one study by Dr.
Sathish Chandran, the water in some open wells and shallow bore wells which the
villagers depended on began to taste strong and bitter; according to another
study by Jananeethi, an NGO, it started tasting salty and hard after the
company began manufacturing.
The plant, the villagers
realised soon, was a water-guzzler: it drew about 20 lakh litres of groundwater
from six bore wells and two ponds in the area every day. As a consequence,
local wells were slowly sucked dry. As the company had extracted excess
groundwater, the villagers began to drink water with high levels of calcium and
magnesium.
Studies conducted
at a laboratory at the University of Exeter, U.K., found high levels of lead
and cadmium in the sludge from the factory. The villagers had not been aware of
the health threats posed by these metals until activists and scientists
informed them about it. The sludge was initially sold to the farmers as
fertilizer. Later, it was given free. When protests erupted, the sludge was
dumped by the roadside.
“Many of us
developed skin rashes and deformities. Although we stopped consuming the
contaminated water in our wells, many of us had already fallen sick because of
it,” recalled Santhi.
M. Thankavelu, son
of Mayilamma, the ‘Plachimada Heroine’ who stood at the forefront of the
agitation until her death in 2007, was at the brink of death after he
contracted psoriasis. “Like my mother, I too contracted this terrible disease
from our exposure to toxic water. I could not move out of my house for about a
year. I never thought I could survive to speak to you now,” he said.
C. Murugan, a paddy
labourer from Plachimada, said that at least half a dozen people had
miscarriages because of the contaminated water.
With water rapidly
depleting and giving them all kinds of health problems, the residents soon
became parched. Many had to trek long distances for potable water. Their
primary livelihood from farming was affected and agricultural production
declined.
From April 2002 to
March 2004, Plachimada witnessed fierce and protracted protests, under the
banner of the Coca-Cola Virudha Janakeeya Samara Samithy (Anti-Coca-Cola
People’s Struggle Committee), demanding people’s right to natural resources,
especially water. Groups from different parts of the country joined the
agitation. National activists like Medha Patkar and Vandana Shiva inspired the
protesters. Hundreds of protesters, including women and children, were arrested
and beaten up. Soon, the agitation turned into a long legal battle.
A world water
conference organised near Plachimada in January 2004 adopted a declaration
which stated that “it is our fundamental obligation to prevent water scarcity
and pollution and to preserve it for generations... Water is not a commodity.
We should resist all criminal attempts to marketise, privatise and corporatise
water. Only through these means can we ensure the fundamental and inalienable
right to water for the people all over the world”.
The people won the
agitation in 2005 when the company finally put up the shutters and left
Plachimada. In 2017, Coca-Cola submitted to the Supreme Court that it had no
intentions of resuming operations in Plachimada. Santhi, the joint convener of
the protest body, said that it was not a mere victory of their agitation; “it
was a victory of all such struggles to come”.
Waiting for
compensation
However, the people
of Plachimada remain disappointed. Governments have come and gone, but their
promises have not been fulfilled. “The transformation of the building seems to
be an effort to whitewash the actions of the multinational company. Governments
have always been supporting the company. That’s why our leaders have not given
the villagers who suffered from water pollution a single paisa in
compensation,” alleged Arumughan Pathichira, State general convener of the
Samara Samithy. “If the government is honest, let it give the victims their
compensation. We have no objection to the COVID-19 hospital; it is very
important. But the government should have confiscated the property and
compensated the victims,” he said. Arumughan warned that the villagers would
strengthen their agitation until the victims are duly compensated.
Adivasi women sit
outside the Palakkad civil station on May 4, 2017, demanding compensation. |
Photo Credit: K.K. Mustafah
A
government-appointed high-level committee headed by the then Additional Chief
Secretary, K. Jayakumar, had assessed the degradation of the environment and
damage suffered by the people of Plachimada and recommended a compensation of
₹216.24 crore to be paid to them. The committee had also recommended setting up
a tribunal for proper distribution of damages. Although the State Assembly
passed the Plachimada Coca-Cola Victims’ Relief and Compensation Claims
Tribunal Bill in 2011, it did not get the Centre’s nod. And though the Left
Democratic Front (LDF) government had assured the people that a tribunal would
be formed, in its 2016 Assembly election manifesto, this promise has not been
kept. The LDF has got a consecutive second term in Kerala but the people of
Plachimada are not hopeful.
Coca-Cola has
consistently opposed the setting up of a tribunal. It has claimed that the
estimated losses were computed through a flawed process. According to
Coca-Cola, its operations in Plachimada did not cause any water depletion or
environmental damage as the company had followed the same process in the
village as it did around the world.
The residents of
the village scoff at this claim. “Everyone knows that the company has left
leaving behind a trail of misery . We need compensation,” said Sakthivel K.,
general convener of the Samara Samithy. Sakthivel was among the dozen-odd
agitators who were arrested by the police on June 17 for protesting outside the
new COVID-19 facility while the Chief Minister was inaugurating it. Front-line
leaders of the Samara Samithy — Vijayan Ambalakkad and Vilayodi Venugopal —
also courted arrest along with Sakthivel.
Preparing for a
third wave
For the State
government, this new facility is more than politics. Minister Krishnankutty,
who has been involved throughout the process, said the Plachimada facility will
go a long way in strengthening the district’s preparedness to face another wave
of COVID-19 infections. “We are thinking about how we can overcome the problems
we faced in the second wave. Such a hospital in government control will help
provide care for COVID-19 patients from all sections. We can ensure equity in
treatment for everyone in the rural sector,” he said.
Water for the
facility will be drawn from a large pond within the compound. It will be used
after UV filtering. Two tanks of 10,000 L capacity each have been set up and
fresh pipelines have been laid for the purpose. Sivaprasad said that potable
water was available and storage capacity would be enhanced when more patients
come. Today, almost all houses in the village have pipeline connections and
water is being pumped in from the Bharathappuzha river.
The facility is
close to Kerala’s border with Tamil Nadu. If the COVID-19 situation worsens
during a third wave, the hospital can be opened for the people from Tamil Nadu
as well. The Palakkad district administration has given consent for this.
“We are happy we
could use the abandoned factory to gear up for the next phase of the pandemic,”
said Premkumar. “We had faced many shortcomings when we set up a first-line
treatment centre for COVID-19 at the Kerala Industrial Infrastructure
Development Park at Kanjikode. Here, we have been able to address all of them,”
she said.
State Health
Minister Veena George recently visited the Plachimada hospital and said that
the State was prepared to face a third wave. Problems that the district saw
during the second wave included a shortage of oxygen beds, ICU beds and
ventilators. Some private hospitals refused to set aside beds for COVID-19
treatment. A recent assessment also found that a large number of category-A
patients had occupied the beds, leading to a shortage of beds for category-B patients.
Given the failure to treat non-COVID-19 cases, long distances from houses to
hospitals, and non-cooperation of some private hospitals, cases shot up in
Palakkad in recent months.
A committee of
officials and people’s representatives will be in charge of the Plachimada
COVID-19 hospital. But the people still want closure for their past suffering.
Kanniyamma, 75, said the early 2000s were a terrible time. “We lost peace, our
drinking water, our sound health,” she said. The State government may have seized
an opportunity to heal Plachimada, but its residents are still far from being
placated
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