Public Services Bill 2007: Magna Carta for public servants in India

The Public Services Bill 2007 which is expected to be taken up by the Indian Parliament in the current session is a manifestation of the struggle of the Indian bureaucracy for devising a mechanism which could ensure efficiency and efficacy of public services . The proposed legislation attempts to set up a regulatory and protective framework for making the civil and police officers perform in a competitive atmosphere without interference and without fear of persecution for being upright and impartial. It covers All India Services namely the IAS, IPS and Indian Forest Services. State Govts. have the option to extend it to respective state public services.

The bill visualizes setting up of a Central Public Service Authority as the apex agency responsible for coordination, control and monitoring of various structural changes visualized in the proposed enactment. The matters relating to the constitution of the Central Public Authority are dealt in Chapter VI of the Bill.

The Authority is to be headed by a person of eminence with at least 25 years expertise in dealing with public service matters. However the bill prohibhits appointment of a MP or MLA or a person connected to any office in a political pand India’s arty to this post. The authority shall have between 3 to 5 members in addition to the Chairperson.

The appointment of Chairperson and members is to be done with approval of the President of India based on recommendations of a selection committee comprising of the Indian Prime Minister , Leader of Opposition, and India’s  Home Minister with  the Cabinet Secretary in the Govt. Of India as the convener. The salary and conditions of service of the Chairperson  and the members shall be at par with the Chief Election Commissioner of India and Indian Election Commissioners respectively. The tenure of appointment is proposed as five years or till attaining of age of 65 years.

The Central Govt shall have to compulsorily consult this Central authority on various matters of public services including evolution and monitoring of a Public Service Code and matters relating to ethics in public service as well as the performance management startegy for public services.

The Public Services which shall be covered by the scheme visualized in the Bill have been defined as below:

Public Services” means the All India Services, the Central Services and any other Service and posts in connection with the affairs of the Union notified by the Central Government;

The principles to be followed in the matter of recruitment to public services are contained in Chapter II which highlights that such appointments shall be on basis of merit and open and fair competition.

Chapter II of the bill deals with certain idealistic concepts such as Public Service values and Public Service Codes. Central Services and All India Services have been so far covered by Conduct Rules which have over the years become a patch work quilt of instructions related to behaviour expected of public servants and need restructuring. The bill proposes to reformulate the approach to these matters .

The Public Service Values projected in the new legislation are coined in more poetic language referring to patriotism, and allegiance to law of the nation while simultaneously making reference to other practical aspects such as integrity, honesty,  transparency etc. for the public services.

The bill seeks to ensure preparation of a Public Service Code with the objective of setting standards of good governance for ensuring that public services are carried out with integrity and efficiency. Any breach of public service ethics shall be subject to punishment as per sanctions prescribed in the law.

Chapter IV of the Bill concerns Performance Management and Accountability for the public services .For this purpose a Performance Management Code is to be evolved by the Central Authority .This code will help ensure that the Public Services function as per developmental and management requirements of the State and objective evaluation of performance is facilitated. The code is expected to inject elements of accountability, neutrality , integrity and professionalism of approach in public services.

Chapter V concerns the conditions of service and protection offered to public servants.

The bill proposes to retain the existing jurisdiction and functions of statutory bodies like Union Public Service Commission, Central Vigilance Commission and assigns several responsibilities to cadre controlling authority which include formulation of service rules and a grievance redressal mechanism for public servants.

In course of discharge of it’s mandated functions , the Central Authority can seek public opinion on policy matters . It has to also submit an annual report to Govt. on various functional  issues including cases of non consultation or non compliance of it’s directions.

The scheme of governance conceived in the bill if accepted and sincerely implemented could metamorphose the picture of public services . Besides offering protection and performance based encouragement it could create a mechanism which is committed to deliver while taking away the interference and pressure tactics which reduce the bureaucratic performance. This will mean depriving the politicians of the unfair advantage which they enjoy today. It is to be seen whether the lawmakers would approve of the suggested changes. Let us keep our fingers crossed.

Do all human beings survive on opiates

Recently one of the leading magazines in India published an article which brought out the fact that gossiping was a favourite pastime of most of us human beings and it added to social networking abilities of human race. While social networking may be one the fallouts of this activity the reason for the indulgence into gossip seems to be something beyond this analysis. Close analysis of day to day human behaviour appears to lead to the inference that human brains appear to need regular dose of stimulation in order to keep us in a state of positive thinking and survive against ups and downs of our struggle for survival in a harsh world. Different members of human species have in the process developed our respective opiates on which we depend for doses of happiness   or excitement .

Take the case of cricket lovers. Nowadays since the game is on round the year in one or another part of the world and innovations like the T20 format of  cricket offer instant results, the cricket lovers seem to have  evolved a continous source of stimulation in shape of ball to ball commentary,  accompanying fanfare and analysis . Other joys and sorrows of day to day life have secondary importance in life of a genuine cricket fan whose brain cells are regularly  tickling with the details on tumbling  records and updates on fluctuations in fortunes of teams and the men who toil between the performance of cheerleaders.When it comes to minute to minute account , another breed of human beings are those interested in ups and downs of share market index. Far too many of us keep track of online tradings without having any worthwhile stakes in the share market.The thrill of being a part of speculation keeps a good proprtion of us glued to laptops when life becomes less exciting for a while.

Not close behind in the reliance on stimulants are the human species practising the avocation which is branded as last refuge of scoundrels. Sheltered behind dignified terminology of politicians these men and women need continuos injection of ego inflating monuments and statues which give  them a temporary impression of towering over ordinary mortals. Take away the stonelaying ceremonies and public felicitations from a politician and the person sinks into depression , becomes  social anarchist and tends to attack everything within sight whether it is a railway budget or a photographer taking snaps.

Religion -another widely used source of stimulation offers allurement  of having higher quality of life after death or in rebirth. That keeps so many of us professing different religious beliefs, busy in continous process of offering our prayers to whichever power we consider to be supreme. In practical terms it gets translated to sporting prominenetly one  religious symbol or other and considering religious duties as something which should take precedence over our professional commitments and social responsibilities. But it does surely keep a large chunk of humanity in state of contentment and sometimes also busy in dreams of conquering all other religions to establish a supremacy of our own religion.

This discussion cannot be complete unless we think of those for whom pay revisions , promtions and transfers are the opiates which keep their minds and hearts preoccupied on 24X7 basis. The Govt. servants  of all hue survive   on calculation of pay benefits,  discussion over supremacy of respective service over others  and the unfair treatment meted out to them by the employer . Hoping for a better posting, anticipating release of next installment of DA or awiting the meeting of Departmental Promotion Committee keeps our brother hood in a state of intoxication which makes them tick in a otherwise treachorous environment.

Bloggers have their own galvanising force.When I statred blogging, the first thing which I usd to do in the morning was to check the hit counter and accordingly would feel happy or depressed if hits were too many or too few during the night. For months together I kept analysing the statistical details to find out as to which readers came from where and read which posts. Thank god I ultimately  realised the absurdity of all this analysis and gave up blog writing for a long time in order to become deaddicted to hit counter.Things are back to normal now i.e. I am more preoccupied with routine addictions of Govt. servants mentioned above.

While  opiates certainly seem to have taken a firm grip over our intellectual behaviour, this situation  has thrown up  some complications and  challenges too.  The recent tragic end of a famous Pop star has exposed the risks involved in  taking of too many anti depressants  since the combination produces unpredictable outcomes.The same complication sometimes occurs when a peron gets addicted to more than one  opiate like a govt servant getting interested in politics or a politician becoming deeply religious .The system and society has to then put in extra efforts to survive the mutants.

an obituary for victims of violence

       On reading the latest news about the bomb blast at Mehrauli in New Delhi many thoughts  came to mind. The first one was  as to how the human mindset changes by recurrence of a particular experience. Another bomb blast in Delhi is not a sensational news item nowadays.The headcounts in the recurring tragedies perhaps only contribute to some statistical notebook in some Ministry or the crime records of some Police Station. For vast majority of the people given the task of running the country the sadness of the events perhaps matters not much more than the loss of a one day match. The pictures of wailing mothers and wives of the persons lost in the senseless violence evoke less emotional response than the loss of a participant in the bigboss or other reality show. Something worth being forgotten by the next morning. For, if this amnesia was not there some of the decision makers would have taken shelter in some distant Himalayan monastry having found it impossible to forget the haunting faces of innocent humans whose lives were snuffed out for the reason that some people in their greed for power consider it necessary to keep the society divided in blood thirsty warring groups.

       Other thought  which struck me was about the metamorphosis which would result in the society  if all the the ultras in the subcontinent joined the mainstream and became peace loving people . Surely for a lot many people such turn of events  would be a tragedy of immense magnitude.  So many TV anchors and talk show coordinators would be out of job and would not be able to aspire for recognition which is conferred as a consequence of their fiery oratorical skills. Absence of bloodshed and tears would certainly be a horrenduos development for those who live by the fire power of anchor’s mike and also for the barons of news paper industry who perhaps secretly crave for a blood spattered front page to make the impact of screaming headlines more commercially viable. 

         And lastly does anyone spare a few thoughts for the families caught in the tragedies, after the initial dust and din is settled. How the children mange after losing parents , how the wives of cops lost in the course of duty manage after loss of the bread winner. Also does anybody try to find out as to what went wrong in the society so that so many  educated young men at an impressionable age were tempted to follow the path of violence instead of a dignified existence bringing up families instead of destroying lives. Does anyone spare a few tears for the mother who had given a healthy and intelligent child to the society ,but to whom the society returned back the coffin of a bullet ridden terrorist. Are we doing anything to change the scenario ?

The T20 brand -elusive for Dr. Vijay Mallya

The recent entry of liquor baron Vijay Mallya in the field of Cricktainment known as DLF IPL League has generated some comic confusion, an activity which has been the hall mark of Mallya’s style of functioning. The business tycoon whose name figures two steps ahead of the magical figure of 666 in the Forbes list of billionaires is known for his eat drink and enjoy lifestyle (if you can afford it). Having inherited a conglomerate of motley companies at the age of 28 years Mallya’s fortunes climbed steeply in course of next two decade to make him owner of some of the most sought after territories in liquor trade. But it has also brought in public domain his confusing and contradictory approach to issues of consequence.

Dr. (?) Mallya true to his spend thrift image purchased ( or assembled) the second costliest team ($111.6 millions) of Indian cricketers in the IPL T20 tournament. It seems that the business baron who proudly acclaims (when you board the Kingfisher aircraft and switch on the mini TV set) that every airhostess in his Kingfisher Airlines has been personally selected by him to treat the passengers as his personal guests was a bit indiscreet this time since his golden team did not display similar devotion to the cause of it’s master and seems to be gravitating towards the bottom of the pit under it’s weight . Mallya reacted promptly and sacked Charu Sharma “CEO” of the team- a commentator whose adornment with this corporate style assignment was decision of Vijay Bhai himself. Dr. Mallya as expected is trying salvage some part of his reputation as producer of world famous liquor brands and breeder of winner race horses with the information that he had left the selection to Chru and Rahul Dravid who selected a test team instead of a team suited for the abbreviated version of the game. Later when another team member Anil Kumble came out in defence of captain Rahul Dravid, Mallya further backtracked and came out to defend team coach.The team despite the changes and fire fighting efforts continues to loose.

Mallya watchers would however contest his contention and recall that he is a man who is inconsistent even while reporting his family roots .While the Wilkipedia reports his place of birth as some obscure town in Karnataka and Calcutta as his place of education, Mallya in an interview to journo Anjali Rao given at his Kingfisher Villa (is it not encroaching on Coastal Regulatory Zone ???) at Goa keenly painted himself as a Goan apparently to reinforce his colorful image. Mallya hardly known for any philanthropic projects, once reported to have spent Rs.1.5 Crs. to purchase a sword belonging to Karnataka warrior king Tipu Sultan in a Sotheby auction at London , for restoring the sword to the motherland. However strangely his wife and family contrary to his patriotic leanings remain ensconced in USA as their home place . About the doctorate which adorns his name, there are apprehensions that it is from a disputed source.

While the blogs promoted by his group rightly praise his genius as a business man , there is a only a subdued reference to his disastrous performance at another sunken ship -the long forgotten Janata Dal of which Mallya is president apparently even now. Having taken over the mantle of Janata Dal President from Subramaniam Swami in the year 2003 he fielded candidates for 20 (unlucky no. for him?) seats for Karntaka Assembly elections. Unfortunately his choice of candidates at that time was total failure since every one from his party lost.

What Dr. Mallya perhaps needs to understand is that while the selection of horses , hostesses and hot calendar models can be made on visual appreciation of certain features , selection of a sports team or political representatives for an election campaign requires tactical skills and intellectual proficiency of a different nature. There are other investors also whose teams are not that successful but they are not complaining because a good businessman should also have a good shock absorption mechanism and in difficult times should wait for the tide to turn.

Report of Sixth CPC :Influenced by Bachchan family?

Since the initial euphoria about the Pay Commission Report was dying out we thought of having a virtual survey of stake holders in order to find out as to who was saying what about the Commission report. While doing rounds of the corridors of power the glowfriend started with the humble Gungadeen peon in Ministry of Sensational Developments . Offcourse Gungadeen had heard the Babus deliberating over the report but all that he knows about his fate is that he would be getting a five figure salary in not too distant future. About the arrears part he was a bit depressed since “..20-25 hajar rupai may to pahli beti ki shaadi wala loan bhi nahi cover hoga….” (20-25 thousand would not even settle the loan for first daughter’s marriage) .

The ever cheerful  stenographer in the section Madam Ragini was also not so pleased with the belated announcement on six month’s maternity leave ” ….. jab bacche bade ho gai..” ( …now when Children have grown up) and for flexible working hours .”….Yeh bhi kaun si nai baat hai , ladies and officers to sab pahle hi apni marji se aatey jatey the.” (What is new about that , ladies and officers came and went as per their will earlier also). Under Secretary Mr. Bhattacharya popularly known as Bhatta Babu was still pouring over the excel sheet hosted by some enterprising “Arrear Calculator” on the website .”….. Yeh saab baaahut conphuson hai DA ka rate ka bare mein kuch theeek theek bola nahin , Khali JS and above ke liye report hai. Hamara kya banega lakh taka bhi nahin milega arrear mein. “ (it is all very confusing, DA calculation formula is not clear . All benefit is for JS and above).

We then knoked at the door of PA to JS in the MInistry. PA was a bit scared ” Jab se report aaya hai sahab bad mood mein hai .” (Sahab is in bad mood ever since the report has come). Still then glowfriend tried to take a chance. Mr.  Balasain was staring agitatedly at the laptop screen while browsing the download of CPC Report. It’s atrocious he said “See we sit here till 9 PM and type out cabinet notes , and it is the peon who corners all the benefit. When I started my job 30 years back a four figure salary was a status symbol . Now my peon will be getting five figure salary. I am shocked! ” . When asked about the arrear part Bala was still more upset .“Arrear of 3-4 Lakhs what would that get us ? A single room tenement in some JJ Colony ! And tell me how is the Government concerned with the mileage points that I earn on official journeys by air . How can the mileage points be monitored ?” . Having seen the mood of civil servants we decided to talk to some political bigwigs.

The Old comrade in CPI appeared quite agitated over the manner in which Tatas and Ambanis were taking over the country. “What will the middle class do with that illgotten money ? Buy Nano and what else?  See how the lowest paid workers are suffering everywhere . Is anyone bothered?”

The madam ex politician cum animal right activist  was quirte hurt when asked to comment on the headline “Peanuts for Monkeys” with reference to CPC Report. “Please spare the monkeys why do you degrade them like this” . The politician from South in sunglasses had however a different reaction to the cited headlines.”Monkeys are free to enjoy their peanuts but they should not make false claims regarding ancient underwater bridges.”

The politico from Bihar was also quite upset like all others ” Hum jo kuch bhi karta hai yeh log sab satyanash kar deta hai. Dekho hum rail ka kiraya itna kum kar diye ki ab hamar samadhi log bhi AC two tier mein ticket kharid ke chalta hai. Aur yeh log LTC may hawai jahaj permit karta hai . Sara chhota mota aadmi flight mein bhara rahta hai.”(Whatever I do these fellows spoil that. See I have reduced the train fare so much that even my relatives buy tickets for train travel. And these fellows are permitting air travel for LTC . All petty persons nowadays crowd the flights)

For the patriotic reigonal leader the Commission conspiracy is quite evident from the name of Commission itself. “Just see how they have doubled transport allowance . Who do you think will benefit… All Bihari Taxiwalas only. House rent…. they pay highest for Mumbai so that all Govt Servants from whole of the country may rush to this city.”

The best response was from the lady CM : “It is all conspiracy of Bachchans to ruin the economy of my State . Very soon our employees would ask for similar pay rise.” But how did she conclude that it was inspired by Bachchan influence? ” Because dekho yeh Abhishake Bachchan suggested in an ad that all individuals should have a number instead of name for identification. I hear that this Commission has done the same and officer’s seniority would now be known with a number. Yeh grade pay kya hai yahi to hai. Sub afsaron ko number de diya.” (What is this grade pay, they allotted numbers to all officers). Madam it appeared was agitated since all the fun in suspending and shunting senior bureaucrats had gone. A news item in future would perhaps read like “ CM today during her field visit to Rai Bareilly ordered suspension of A Kumar an officer of Grade pay 6000/- while she shunted out B Prasad of Grade Pay 66oo/-…… and with this order the cumulative grade pay total of the officers suspended in the first quarter of the financial year crossed the magical  figure of Rs. 1 Lakh”. Public would need a ready reckoner to appreciate the boldness of the job done by Bahanji!.

Jab Jodhaa met Akbar

In every civilized society which cares for individual sentiments there is some law for protection of certain heritage sites and buildings since these are considered to be the collective property of the humanity and there is a recognition of the fact that every one has a right to share the unspoilt beauty of an architectural monument or a natural formation in an unaltered fashion. Unfortunately there is no legal protection in respect of an icon of history whose image cultivated over generations is mercilessly butchered by a buccaneering film producer unrepentantly and with the simple excuse that it is merely a work of fantasy and has no historical basis!

Aushutosh Gowrikar of Lagaan fame has done precisely that to the image of Jodha Bai a Rajput Queen of middle ages and the Mughal King Akbar who is remembered as one of the few benevolent despots who have given this country a symbol of administrative reforms and spirit of religious tolerance .

Having failed to meet success at the oscar nominations for his period film Lagan , Gowrikar has come out with a more calculated assault on the Oscar battlefield through Jodah Akbar romance which the film claims is not reported in history ( the name of the princess and her relation ship with Akbar is also doubted) but the expensive film with lavish squandering on objects of visual pleasure appears to be attempting to become a historical magnum opus. Nobody wishes to join the issue of historical credibility with Mr. Gowrikar but pray Mr. Gowrikar why did you thrust this plastic beauty of Indian screen to wipe out the memories of Jodha Bai so powerfully projected by the legendary Durga Khote. And your Akbar…although young , but can he ever be expected to adorn the throne occupied by powerful personae of Prithviraj Kapoor in Mughal-e-Azam which is etched in the memory of generations of cinegoers .

A good documentary for Rajasthan Tourism or chalu stuff for a good tear jerker TV serial to be watched by Saas Bahus in the afternoon , or a modern presentation of Vikram Betal stories is what you have produced Mr. Gowrikar with so much fanfare. Your bundle of mini stories of religious hysteria , Saas bahu tussle ,wimpish Rajpoot princes , plotting brother-in-law, fanatic ulemas and incognito visits of young emperor to see the status of his praja could have created a long running TV serial because each episode is a mini thriller but not the part of a story of any interesting substance. The only tears which come to the eyes of an intelligent cinegoer are due to strain of spending 200 minutes in the theatre for witnessing your mediocrity.

And there was a feeling of relief after coming out of the hall for one more reason. That was for the realization that the romantic excitement of Madhubala, Dilip Kumar pair in Mughl-e-Azam would remain beyond the reach of producers for all times and the movie would remain the true Moughal amongst the movies as tribute to the genius of it’s producer and Director.

Madam Ashwarya Rai may now try her luck with some other fake piece of history because this one again seems to have floundered like remake of Umrao Jaan…despite the hidden support of dad-in-law by way of unworthy praise of a dance sequence filmed on Hrithik Roshan. Cinegoers having seen the Mughal movies like Anarkali and Mughal-e-Azam will have to recall the emotional thrill of “Pyar kiya to darna kya “ dance number performed so tantalizingly by Madubala and the Quawalis of the films produced in sixties when they want to think of a piece of art which is highly entertaining and also intellectually satisfying , while the likes of Aishwarya and Aushotosh will fade away from the scene in no time.

And now last but not the least, the latest news  reports say that Mayawati Ji Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh has chosen this occasion to garner some votes from Rajput community by placing a ban on the movie (just two days after the MP High Court quashed a ban of similar nature and under full realization that hers would also be a short lived ban). The scenario is a bit  comical in the sense that Akbar the great warrior of middle ages has come to the rescue of another damsel in distress in modern times by helping her recover some popularity in Rajput community .

Marginalise and Kill : The Politics of Raj

Sare jahan Se accha Hindostan hamara. Hum Bulbulein hain iski yeh gulsitan hamara. ( Our loveable Hindustan is above all others in the world. We are it’s singing birds and this is our garden) . This is how poet Iqbal described India before independence and partition. After independence from the British Raj, the Indian Constitution framed by politicians brought up with such liberal and romantic ideas gave us a free nation which bestowed on all citizens unfettered rights to freely move and settle in any part of the country.

Encouraged by this liberal constitution and newly found freedom the post independence era brought about a great intermingling of it’s people . Our great cities at one time took pride in being labeled as cosmopolitan in nature or sometimes being called a mini India. The south Indian Idly Dosa cuisine found it’s way to each north Indian eating joint and south India in turn felt proud to have a “ Shere Punjab” Hotel in every nook and corner of major metro cities. The Kathak dancers of Lucknow performed to fully packed auditoriums in Goa and the Hindi Cinema anchored at Mumbai established as a million dollar industry with the participation of Kapoor Khandans of Punjab. Considered as the heman of his times actor Dharmendra fell to the charms of South Indian belle Hema Malini and Masoor Ali Khan Nawab of a princely State in Punjab found solace in marriage with an actress of Bengali origin.

But the happiness and enjoyment of the newly born nation in creating a multidimensional social fabric was short-lived. The political leadership which in post independent India found itself overwhelmed with the task of nation building and in turn felt threatened for survival due to lack of imaginative problem solving capabilities reinvented the politics of divide and rule . The desperation and frustration, infact painted the obnoxious agenda with much sinister colours . The agenda got upgraded to marginalize and kill.

The new trend of political one-upmanship is leading to an astonishingly grim scenario . Firstly it was a war between north and south later on we narrowed down our boundaries and developed hatred for natives of all states other than our state . Majority of states now have some grouse with the neighboring state. Process of free flow of human beings across the state borders is considered as an invasion for financial exploitation. Each state has it’s own database to explain as to how business men and jobseekers from other states are choking the sons of soil in their states. Migration is considered as an act of crime to enjoy hard earned economic benefits of the other state. With every passing day the boundaries are shrinking further , now it is a question of culture being confined to cities.

So while Mumbaikars may enjoy their New Yea’s eve in Goa but the north indian taxi driver who ferried them across the border for enjoyments may get mashed up by Shiv Sainiks on return for not belonging to Mumbai ! In not too distant future a railway train running from one end of the country to other end may carry only dead bodies of passengers at the last stop because people of each state (or city?) would attempt to eliminate those passengers who are aliens i.e. from other states or cities.

Who said that the Raj is dead it has emerged in a new avtar.

Benazir, Rajiv, Indu we miss you !

Matrix trilogy a series of films which brought to the viewers a glimpse of future controlled by computer generated soft wares is among my all time favourite movies . The thrill of imaging the unlimited potential of a computer controlled virtual world however concludes with certain philosophical observations . One such conclusion or lesson which emerges from the movie is that even the best computer programme can go horribly wrong . In the movie a virtual character in form of humanoid created through a computer programme named as Smith develops an instinct to reproduce itself in order to overpower it’s opponents. Smith subsequently in the process becomes a threat to the virtual world known as Matrix and it’s creator.

While watching a rerun of the movie it suddenly occurred to me as to how close the storyline fitted with pattern of events which have occurred in this subcontinent in last several decades . I do not know whether politicians like Benazir Bhutto get an opportunity to see such movies. Rajiv Gandhi and Indira Gandhi were victims of their own Smiths much before the Movie was released. But one can wonder just wonder whether any political leader ever contemplated the possible effects of the Smiths created by them becoming a threat to themselves. Off course CIA regularly eliminates it’s Smiths once they appear to be over stepping their limits.

But how sad it is to see the common thread running through the ghastly elimination of three top leaders of Indo Pak subcontinent. Indira Gandhi the shrewdest prime minister that India had after Nehru, failed to foresee the risk of backing certain aggressive elements in the Sikh community and therefore ended up antagonizing the whole community at one stage. Rajiv Gandhi champion of cause of Tamils in Sri Lanka and darling of crowds in South had to pay for his misjudgment for the Sri Lankan misadventure . And now Benazir daughter of East who overlooked the resurgence of hardliners during her regime as Prime Minister seems to have been made to pay for the indiscretion when the seeds nurtured during her rule seem to be overtaking every thing under militant form of religion.

I wish these charming and sophisticated leaders , of modern era , although lacking the formal training into school of political science could have been sincerely and forcefully advised by other mature politicians around them in such sensitive matters. These leaders had the capability to understand repercussions if they were properly guided. Sadly it could not happen and the world lost three extraordinary humans with so much potential untapped. The political scenario in the Sub Continent would have been so much richer with their presence.

Tsunami in Delhi

26th December 2004 was an unforgettable day for people living in many coastal cities in India . The powerful earthquake and the gigantic Tsunami waves which followed it shook several peaceful and sleepy towns out of their slumber, swept away several habitations from face of earth and in the process left painful memories of loss of near and dear ones for survivors. But human beings are just play things in the hands of nature so civilizations silently bear the sufferings arising out of such acts of devastation at the hands of the creator.

 

But how do we react to a Tsunami created in the national capital by politicians for the sake of publicity at the cost of public . Tsunami in a coastal city may be a something acceptable for natural compulsions but Tsunami in the land locked capital city of the country ? What does it mean ? Tsunami I am referring to here is a rally of human beings which is due to engulf the Capital city around the third anniversary of the original Tsunami .The occasion for rally is the celebrations for the empowerment of the Panchayati Raj institutions in the country . The proposed sweeping mega event which seems to owe its creation to brain waves originating in the ever creative mind of some ruling think tank is slated to hit the city on Christmas eve with a mega force . Train loads of members of panchayats and their families numbering more than 2.5 Lakhs are expected to descend on the city at the call of respected Prime Minister to participate in this celebration of transfer of democratic rights to grassroots level by virtue of a constitutional amendments several years back .

 

The persons in charge of the affairs started everything at a breakneck pace as if there was a fear that time was running out for the Govt. The first meeting was organized at a notice of barely 48 hours. Since it was impossible for senior officers of States (who have to send the participants) to attend the meeting at such short notice, so the Delhi based representatives of States were roped in along with Railways , Municipal Corporation and other agencies connected with logistic arrangements . Stunned by the sheer magnitude of the wasteful exercise Railways tried to plead for mercy citing the heavy cost of transportation (around 200 Crs.) , the heavy traffic movement due to vacations and paucity of resources and time. But the Juggernaut refused to stop it’s run. The pleadings of Health authorities about the possibility of causalities due to extreme weather conditions at the time of rally too could not impress the leader.

 

The citizens of Delhi have for years been at the receiving end, bearing brunt of the miseries and chaos in daily life which accompany such political gimmicks . Rallies organised in past have thrown life out of gear. People going to workplaces, children returning from schools , persons in need of medical treatment , women and disabled have repeatedly suffered in the past due to blockade of the traffic and hours and hours of traffic jams. Rallies have often created scenes of lawlessness and chaos. Public money worth Crores has gone down the drain, every time when such fancies have struck the minds of a political leader. However the anxiety to corner publicity at national stage always overcomes any sensitivity to sufferings of the public in the minds of politicians. Also, perhaps because most of the organizers have scant affection for the city and the city govt. burdened under it’s own contradictions, surviving at the mercy of central leadership is too meek to come to the rescue of the people.

 

Several years back the then political masters had decided that enough was enough. Henceforth Delhi would be a civilized place. So a rally ground was developed at the outskirts of the city in village of Burari. It was decided that all those coming for rally would disembark outside city limits at this rally ground, park the vehicles and do whatever they wanted in support of their cause at the vast open grounds there. This time too it was reminded by someone that Burai or even some neighboring town like Gurgaon would be a far better option for this kind of gathering. But politicians know their games well. A rally outside the city limits! Would that receive as good attention from media . Off course not. And a rally at Gurgaon ..would that not give far more mileage to the concerned State Govt. So heart of Delhi would remain the best choice and the human Tsunami would sweep us off our feet on the destined day. Get ready Delhiites.

 

Subsequently better sense seems to have prevailed. Rally is now Cancelled (14th Dec.2007 )