Nirbhaya, Gudiya ……… what are we doing to arrest a possible next?

After Nirbhaya, we have now had a Gudiya. God forbid there is then a Muniya and a Bitiya, or even a Munna and a Babloo. Let us have correct accountability and responsibility towards the rape cases.

There was a strong public reaction in December last year and a few leaders / politicians including our Prime Minister Shri Manmohan Singh said that they empathise. And reacting to the Gudiya outpourings by the common man – or rather the common women – Shri Neeraj Kumar, Delhi Police Commissioner also felt that it was a perception only that women did not feel safe in Delhi. My simple question to all of them is – how many times in the last say one year have young women and girls of their family travelled out on the roads after 8 pm - without any police or other escort? Are they willing to take up a challenge – let them ask a young girl of their family to go out and then ask her to travel back alone about 20kms on public transport – then let them get her (and her mother’s) perception of whether she felt safe. Only then can we have the beginnings of anything like empathy.

Then, as now, there has been a huge hue and cry with the public demanding the scalps of the Chief Minister of Delhi, the Home Minister, the Commissioner of Police et al. The Department of Internal Security, Ministry of Home Affairs deals with police, law and order and rehabilitation in the country. It is  headed by a Special Secretary who in turn reports to the Home Secretary. (http://www.mha.nic.in/uniquepage.asp?Id_Pk=27 ). I keep wondering – why is no one asking for elucidations from Shri R.K.Singh the Home Secretary and from Shri S. Jayaraman, the Spl. Secretary (Internal Security) and also what they are getting done through their counterparts in all the States -after all, these cases have happened during their tenure. The bureaucrats of our country such as those belonging to the Indian Administrative Services, have tremendous power in the government but rarely, if ever, are called into accountability. Their cadre is extremely strong and if they are made to feel vulnerable and answerable to the public, a lot of change can come about in India on a “fast track” basis. Also, the responsibility of law making is of our legislators’ viz. our politicians. For rape cases, the Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance 2013 has been passed by both Houses and signed by the President. Once a law has been made, the responsibility of execution gets passed on to the government officials – in this matter headed by the Home Secretary. Can we not shake him / them up to get results?

Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Saturday hinted that there may be a shake-up at the topmost levels in the Delhi Police – shockingly not because the police again showed resistance in registering the FIR but in the wake of recent incidents, including protesters entering his house and their conduct against West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. (http://zeenews.india.com/news/delhi/delhi-rape-mha-summons-delhi-police-commissioner_843814.html). If the Home Minister can feel outraged because of people entering his house – which is merely a physical object - imagine the feelings of the girls who are themselves violated. But the priorities of Shri Shinde are clearly different.

The objective of the Delhi Police, inter-alia is to - Uphold the law fairly and firmly; To prevent crime; to pursue and bring to justice Those who break the law …. And to be seen to do all this With integrity, common sense and sound judgment. (http://delhipolice.nic.in/home/about/dpcharter.aspx). While in these cases the police have certainly acted with promptitude to arrest the culprits they seem to have given dilution to their objective “To prevent crime”. And what about ”to be seen to do all this” The Police Commissioner felt that things had improved in the last few months as more cases were now being registered. (http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/ready-to-quit-if-it-helps-says-delhi-police-commissioner/article4643427.ece). He felt that this showed that the police are now more easily registering cases. But on what basis did he rule out other possible reasons – the surge could equally be because families are now increasingly coming forward to register the cases – or even because the number of cases has actually gone up?

The Delhi Chief Minister Shiela Dikshit was quite comfortable saying that in the case of Delhi, the Police does not report to her but to the Centre. While saying this why did she not cover the aspect that the Centre is governed by her very own party – if she could not convince her own party, what moral obligation or failure did she feel? And even if we had a different party at the Centre, was it not her responsibility to convince the Centre – or die doing so? Obviously she has not felt the problem as important enough.

 Jawahar Lal Nehru  suggested and got created Zonal Advisory Councils "to develop the habit of cooperative working” and “to create healthy inter-State and Centre-State environment with a view to solving inter-State problems” (http://mha.nic.in/pdfs/ZCS-CitiCharter-130710.pdf). This could be used to resolve this Centre-State issue where Shiela Dikshit feels her inability in respect of the Police - The Northern Zonal Council (of which Delhi is a member) has not met after 25.10.2005 i.e. for over seven years now. Apparently none of the Zonal Councils have met after 12.02.2007 - even thoughas late as for the financial year 2010-11 it even got a budget sanctioned. The Secretariat is functioning under administrative control of Ministry of Home Affairs. Bureaucrats are Advisors of the Zonal Council. So once again – what are our bureaucrats doing in this matter?

The answer to the problem that is now in the eyes of the public is neither simple nor single. While the reaction from the public has been strong in Delhi, as the Home Minister has pointed out, such instances are happening elsewhere too. A multi-pronged approach is essential for both short term and long term goals. To suggest a few steps, we need to have:

1. Studies to ascertain some patterns and some causes, and the various steps taken to address the problem. This could be State wise since literacy levels, demographic patterns and impact of local pressures may vary significantly. 
2. Studies may be undertaken to prepare profiles of the victims and of the perpetrators. 
3. NGOs could get involved in obtaining feedback on the experiences of the victims and their families in registering the FIRs, in recording the statement of the traumatised and in getting treatment in hospitals.
4. All political parties may take strong action against any of their party-persons making derogatory remarks. 
5. The Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha (and equivalent counterparts in the States) may decide how they would treat errant MPs and MLAs. MLAs may involve Zila Parishads, sarpanchs and the panchayats in their areas for creating a social impact. 
6. The Ministry of Human Resource Development may take steps so that all teachers across the country give repeated talks on the dignity of the individual; the Ministry of Women and Child Welfare may do this through NGOs. 
7. While the cases are yet to be proved, the alleged perpetrators in the case of Gudiya were found to belong to villages or have strong familial links in other states. Is this a chance situation or are they migrant population with no steady base? 
8. There have been a lot of discussions on the punishment to be awarded to rapists / brutal rapists. It must be remembered that the person who has been raped suffers not just physical and mental trauma, but for the rest of her life, and through no fault of hers she would also suffer negative attention or even ridicule from society at large. A quid pro quo would require the perpetrator to face not just physical and mental suffering, but also society’s ridicule for the rest of his life – a public castration would perhaps met this requirement with the added advantage that hardly any man would be willing to have some hours of “enjoyment” if he is to deprived of his manhood forever. 

The above are just a few suggestions; the great minds in our country could come up with several more ideas, all of which must be tried concurrently. But for this to happen we need leadership.

If only we had a strong and caring Prime Minister, Home Minister, Home Secretary and Special Secretary, Internal Security in the Union Government (and their counter parts in the States). Or even anyone of them being strong and really really concerned,

(An excellent post on this issue appears  on a blog : Another I liked is available here - do read these to get different perspectives and thoughts)

India, sans accountability of the elite class – our bureaucrats

A mail going around in my circle commented upon the Lokpal recommended by Anna Hazare as not being accountable to anyone. While not going into this issue, the thought that came to my mind was whether we really have accountability in our country.

The most recent instance of a true farce has been our President accepting the mercy petition and commuting the death sentence of a man (Tidke) who had died five years ago! And the ridiculous argument given was that the file was moved only 2-3 years ago? But why was the file only moved 2-3 years ago? Obviously the plea had been filed, at the very latest, in 2007. So who was responsible for the delay of the intervening period? And if the pardon was accorded only now, what was the new development which took place which allowed a decision to be FINALLY taken –unless of course it was the Supreme Court looking into these delays. (http://www.hindustantimes.com/News-Feed/India/Death-by-waiting-India-s-mercy-plea-debate/Article1-833887.aspx) And the rationale in according the decision very obviously was NOT the petitioner’s behaviour till date. The president’s office has also clarified that all the cases had been examined by the Home Minister and that they were fully satisfied that the government had tendered its advice properly. (http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article3570321.ece).  But the moot question is – who is responsible for the entire situation which has resulted in the country’s highest office becoming a laughing stock? I have not read in the newspapers of any action being initiated against anyone.

We have another infamous case of the appointment of Mr. Thomas as the Chief Vigilance Commissioner. While I have commented in detail on this case in an earlier post (https://sahaas.blogspot.com/2011/03/does-probity-of-pm-and-others-allow.html), which officials of the State and Central Government were hauled up for both the delay and the blunder? No one!!

Then let’s look at the ‘demise’ of Air India, due to sheer mismanagement and wrong decisions. It has been run by bureaucrats for several decades – but who has heard of any probe into the causes of the failure or of any bureaucrat being questioned in this matter?

And there is the case of construction being permitted in Noida Extension and then stopped by the court. Who is bothered about the sufferings of the general public who have booked flats there? And which officials were involved in the granting of permission in the first place – have they been penalized in any manner? Such cases are innumerable - one can just go on and on.

The administration of the States rests with the IAS. But look at the way they turn a blind eye to the most obvious – the pitiable condition of departments they manage – the roads, the encroachment of pavements, the illegal colonies to name only a few. When we have the tragic case of Mahi, or of elephants being hit on the highway, the names of the private individuals involved surfaces immediately, but in matters of officialdom, all is shrouded in a veil of secrecy.

Like in all other matters, we have good bureaucrats and bad ones – why as a country have we given up our rights to have this class too in the dock, just like any other government employee, for cases of malafides, poor decisions, procrastinations, crass negligence, turning a blind eye to wrongs and last, but not the least, an inability to administer and run efficient departments and organisations - forget they being examples for others to emulate?

Air India - Human fuel needed to be airborne

Air India's pilots, engineers, cabin crew, ground staff etc. have not been paid salaries for several months. And these are the human beings that are the most essential components of the airline to keep aeroplanes flying. The woes of the staff came to my knowledge recently when I was travelling; one of the airhostesses narrated the plight. I wondered if the salaries of CMD and directors of Air India were also stopped! It would be very unlikely as senior bureaucrats would have been hurt. It is sensational to learn from the Minister of Civil Aviation that the government made a mistake by merging erstwhile Air India and Indian Airlines (Indian) and the post merger actions by the government and the airlines had many gaps in making the merger a success. For the mistakes of bureaucrats and politicians and some others involved in the decision making, the consequences are passed onto the employees of the airlines who are expected to quietly accept them.

I watched a discussion on TV yesterday (Who killed Air India on The Buck Stops Here) and was stunned to hear the views of Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh and of some others in the panel. The Minister said that the government and management were responsible for the wrong decisions leading to the failure and that, though the Dharmadikari report was submitted in January, they will still take a few months to START discussing it. Despite this, he feels it is the Unions and employees who have to realise that they have a stake in Air India’s survival. He says he empathises with them but also that he expects them to continue to be  - silent sufferers? The panellists like Manish Tiwari, a Congress MP and R P Rudy, BJP (ex Civil Aviation Minister) said many things in a similar vein and that the government has walked the extra mile and it is the pilots who need to ask themselves the questions. I have nothing to do with Air India but I definitely have HUGE issues with such remarks. Those who were pontificating against the pilots – have they looked at the issues consequent upon one single action – not getting salary regularly, on time. As a retired salaried person I can well understand the difficulties faced if there are delays of even a few days in getting the salary. What do they expect the Air India staff to do – go around with a begging bowl to their friends, relatives and neighbours?

I wonder for how many days, salary was not paid to the administrative staff of the civil aviation ministry, the Minister of Civil Aviation himself, the CMD and other members of the Board of Air India etc.?  And here also count in the perquisites since that comprises their major remuneration. So let’s try an exercise – for six months do not pay the top brass in the Ministry and the board of Air India their salary and perks – and so during this period, no medical facilities unless they are paid for, no conveyance facility but you still have to reach office on your own, no telephone or mobile, and most important of all no house to stay in – after all the landlord would have evicted you because rent has not been paid. Let their children face the embarrassment of frequent reminders for fees in front of their classmates. And let loaners come knocking at the doors since EMI is delayed. And additionally let them get a permanent bad credit history. And then, with something like a level playing field so that we can see true empathy, let them air their views in such open debates.

And look at the justifications – that just because the ground staff and Air hostesses did not go on strike despite not getting paid, it was wrong for the pilots to go on strike. I wonder what point was being made – that just because some victims of child abuse or some rape victims do not speak out, it is wrong for any child or rape victim to speak out or to lodge a complaint. How ridiculous can you get?

There was a comment that the pilots are well qualified and if they were so dissatisfied they could easily look for another job. Maybe that is why the pilots spoke out, the airhostesses and ground staff could not muster the courage. And just because the politicians and bureaucrats who took the wrong decisions are “not qualified”,they are apparently entitled to remain in their seats, get their salary and perks and their promotions, without being accountable to anyone.

Courts have held “no work, no pay”. Why not “No pay, no work”? But obviously such expectations are only one sided?

So very many wrong decisions were taken – a very small one being that of changing the name to “Indian” and repainting this on the Aircraft without looking at the cost and its impact on payload,  (please see an earlier post of August 2011 Air India on ventilator ).

And the Minister was quite righteous while saying that Air India needs to be closed down and that the merger decision was a mistake. But this mistake was not made by the pilots or the ground staff, yet he feels that what he says is only correct. This decision was taken by the politicians and bureaucracy – let’s hear how many bureaucrats and politicians are being punished for this – how many of them, past to current, have lost their jobs, their pensions and their reputation? Or, as is usual, have the politicians and bureaucrats got accolades and plum postings and it is the hapless victims of these wrong decisions who, the present politicians and bureaucrats feel, can justifiably be further punished?

Review of Sachin Garg’s “I’m not twenty four . . . I’ve been nineteen for five years”

I have been voicing thoughts of mine as an Indian citizen, this time I thought I’d share those on a book I have just read – of a purely Indian story by an Indian author.

Sachin Garg is a young engineer with an MBA who has taken to writing stories and has started his own publishing house. His “I’m not twenty four . . . I’ve been nineteen for five years” is a small book written in simple language and definitely an easy read. It is the story of Saumya Kapoor, a 24 year old fresh MBA from Delhi joining her first job. Her posting to a small town in Karnataka is totally unexpected but taken by her in her stride out of sheer determination not to fail. The first half of the book is related to her getting the job, her astonishment of the place of posting, her preparations and her settling there. It is this part of the book that is unimpressive, there is no insight into her college or college friends, her actual lifestyle or even in her reactions to what she finds on reaching the village – in fact the recounting does not appear to actually relate to a village but rather to any typical large factory township. Further, the story has been written as the narration of a woman, and here I think Sachin Garg has failed. Merely by saying that he has written the story in Saumya’s own voice does not mean that it reads as Saumya’s narration. In my opinion, the author has not been able to capture the essence of femininity. Women tend to emote more, to jump from one thought to another, to react more strongly – the author has written the story in the dispassionate manner that he thinks women think. This is manifest by the logical pattern of the development of the story, the emotions supposedly underlying, do change the direction of events and happenings, but not the story telling. Also I did not like the style in that it appears more a chronological narration of happenings as in an autobiography without giving any insight into the mind and thinking of the protagonist. As far as the development of the male characters in the book is concerned, the very absence of any details about Amit, her classmate and present colleague, clearly bring out his non-importance in her life. But her reactions to Malappa and subsequently to Shubradeep left me wondering.

The book picks up when she starts her actual job in a steel plant – in the Safety Department rather than the more usual HR department. Here, unlike my expectations, she is not required to handle issues related to improvement of safety but rather the aftermath of failed security – a surprising role. The developments are unexpected and dreadful but here again the author glosses over the depth of her reaction by merely stating that she fainted. Subsequent events are again earth-shattering and left me, as a reader, more shaken than the protagonist appeared herself. And it is for this reason that I would recommend reading the book - the second half is bound to evoke emotions in you.

The story itself is excellent, unusual and exceedingly well conceived. Some situations are so powerful as to leave you gasping – the powerpoint presentation she is shown as part of her induction give the first clue of the totally unexpected – the shock value is huge. The end is great and worth the meandering of the book.

So despite the inadequacies I felt in the writing style and in the proof-reading, the story is unique and strong, and is one which you will remember and wonder – can this really happen. And Sachin Garg is well worth watching for his next story.

Why are parents of girls' silent spectators

Yesterday's Times of India carried the shocking story of how a doctor reportedly murdered his well educated wife. (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Doctor-murders-wife-in-Delhi-drives-1000km-to-dump-body-in-Ganga/articleshow/10150504.cms).  

The story further states a few important points - both families were from Jharkhand and from the same profession, the fathers did have some common links and there was already a doubt about the reputation of the boy and his family even before the marriage. But once the marriage took place, apparently the pointers that something was drastically wrong were strong enough – not only were there difficulties in the marriage, the girl was not even being enough to eat, she had been admitted to a mental hospital, the husband was violent enough to have been reported to the police several times – apparently therefore everyone knew that matters were extreme. Now the actual facts are known only to the people involved and will perhaps be better understood as police enquiries get underway, but here I am presuming that the above is correct.

The whole appalling episode raises the fundamental issue of the role of the girls’ parents in such cases. While prima facie the very raison d’etre for the wedding to take place is not clear, it can be assumed that the initial reservations and misgivings were not strong, and benefit of doubt can be given. But what about thereafter? The parents of the girl had also not cast her away / disinherited her. Like all good parents they encouraged their daughter to try and make a success of the marriage – not to give in just because the going was not as good as it should have been. But is this their sole role and does their duty and obligation end here? The clues were not just pointers giving an inkling of something wrong – there was clear evidence that the matter was serious. The girl was well educated and professionally too at that – this was surely adequate for the parents to feel that she could, with their support, create a life for herself. And when she had also received a good job offer, the parents knew that she could become financially self supporting. She was an only child – her returning back to the family fold would not have adversely impacted the life and opportunities of younger sisters. So what held them back from extending their full support to their daughter?

In general, and in Indian society in particular, the position of the girl and her parents still continues to be subordinate. But to what extent and for how long should they keep quiet. Do they not have any responsibility towards their daughter once she is married? And why did the daughter put up with this situation - she knew she could become independent.  As a woman and the mother of a professional daughter, I wish she had had the confidence to step out and make a life for herself. But coming back to the parents – I feel very strongly that they abdicated their responsibilities. And when a girl and her parents have been given strong legal rights vis-a-vis the boy’s side in dowry cases, why not enforce their responsibilities legally.

We need a wakeup call for the parents of girls. As a woman and the mother of a girl, I ask – along with the boy, why not charge the girl’s parents with abetment to murder? Maybe then the fear of action, of jail, of real social dishonour, will overcome their fear of social stigma on the mere failure of the marriage of their daughter. And maybe in future, the parents of girls will hesitate in being only spectators.