14 Wednesday, June 22, 2005
The Faceless Female Worker
A THOUGHT FOR TODAY
Striving for equality by means of a directed economy
can result only in an officially enforced inequality.
FRIEDRICH AUGUST VON HAYEK
Rethink Reservation
Quotas no answer to
Muslim backwardness
A
NDHRA Pradesh chief minister Y S Rajasekhara
Reddy would like to take credit for redeeming his
poll promise to Muslims. He would justify it on
the ground that the TDP had made a similar
promise in the run-up to Elections 2004. The legal and
administrative objections — the government cannot
classify Muslims as a backward class, the creamy layer
must be excluded from the benefit — raised by the Opposi-
tion when the move was first mooted a year ago have been
cleverly put to rest. But the Andhra government’s decision
to introduce 5% reservation for Muslims in government
jobs and in government institutions cannot be hailed as a
progressive move. It is bad both in principle and in policy. It
goes against the principle of secularism enshrined in the
Constitution. The Constitution does not sanction religion-
based reservations. It provided reservations for SCs & STs
as a special case for a limited period. Instead of phasing out
reservations which militate against merit and put us at a
disadvantage in an era of global competition, it’s sad that
the government should be extending it to new groups. In
doing so the AP government is paying its debt of gratitude
to the minority community which has helped it return to
power after many years.
The move is fraught with dangerous political and
social implications. It could trigger competitive populism
and a scramble for Muslim votes through this politically-
expedient but extremely shortsighted policy. Power-hungry
politicians could take the cue from YSR and announce
similar quotas to garner Muslim votes. The social cost of
the move would be far greater. It could lead to much
heartburn and unnecessarily pit Muslims against other
communities who could resent the benefit conferred on
them. Muslims must realise that quotas are not the route to
real emancipation. In any case government jobs are shrink-
ing so reservation provides no major advantage. No one is
against affirmative action for a socially and economically
disadvantaged group. Muslims in AP, especially in the
Telengana region, are poor and illiterate. But how would
reservation help improve their socio-economic condition? If
the AP government is serious about improving the lot of
Muslims, it should provide them free education and
training in entrepreneurial skills.
Sailing Starships
Private enterprise launches
new space technology
T HE age of fuel-guzzling rockets could be coming to an
end soon — barely 50 years after they blasted off — if a
privately sponsored exploratory mission supported by
members of the Planetary Society from all over the world is
successful. Long the dream of science fiction writers and
visionaries like Arthur C Clarke, such an engineless space-
craft would, in effect, need to harness just the energy of the
solar wind, the stream of particles constantly emitted by
the Sun, to propel itself over virtually unlimited distances.
In fact, it would require to only initially be injected into
orbit by means of a conventional rocket launcher because
thereafter it would deploy sails to catch the “light wind”
much like terrestrial sailing ships used to utilise air cur-
rents while journeying across vast oceans on Earth. Also, in
the absence of any atmospheric resistance or friction to
impede its movement, a solar sail-powered spacecraft could
in theory keep accelerating continuously. Over a period of
time this would enable it to reach speeds not possible with
conventional rocket engines developed so far, so that inter-
planetary exploration would not only become cheaper but
also immensely faster. It’s the only technology now in
existence that can one day take humanity to the stars too.
Exactly this kind of a New Age exploratory craft, called
Cosmos 1, was launched on Tuesday from a submerged
Russian submarine in the Barents Sea to be carried into
orbit on board a converted ICBM rocket left over from the
old Soviet arsenal. It has eight triangular sails, each
15 metres in length configured around the spacecraft’s body
at the centre which are to be unfurled by inflatable tubes
once it reaches its orbit at an altitude of 800 kilometres.
If the pressure of light particles from the Sun falling
on these luminous sails can help in raising the craft’s
orbit even marginally, the experiment would deemed
to have been a success. A success not only as far as
technology is concerned but also for private enterprise in
space exploration. Because although NASA, the European
Space Agency and Russia have their own plans
for sailing lightships, none of these has lifted off its
drawing board so far.
Doll House
By NEETA PRASAD
I don’t know where she is now, and in what state. That blue
dress I stitched for her wasn’t a bad job, coming from a 10-
year-old. I wonder whether Mini gave her a new dress after
that. And her hair? I hated didi’s constant battle with my
unruly mane, but the monthly, relentless attack of scissors
acquired a new meaning when Pinky turned bald. My pre-
cious, dark hair looked lovely on her. Pinky did not come to
me as a birthday gift. You could almost call her a family
heirloom. Between my eldest sister and me, there is a gap of
11 years. Pinky was witness to all that happened in the fam-
ily during those 11 years. Add to it the 12 years that she was
with me, and it comes to 23 years. Not many doll-family al-
liances are known to have lasted that
long. During the years, ownership
changed — from Poonam didi to Nu-
tan didi to me, names changed —
BRIEF
Pinky was Bela, Moti, Dolly to differ-
ent people at different points of time.
CASE
Her thick, golden tresses gave way to a bald pate, to be fi-
nally covered with my own hair. But Pinky was always
there, very much a member of the family. And the elders in
the family were also very indulgent towards her. No festival
went by without my aunt putting together leftover fabric
from our new dresses to tailor something for my doll.
After my daughter was born, my house is littered with
about 12 Barbies. I have lost count, and my five-year-old
daughter couldn’t care less. Her philosophy towards toys
seems to be that of total detachment. For her every tomor-
row is a new day, complete with the promise of a new toy.
And there are enough doting elders and friends to ensure
that the promise is fulfilled. So why would one mourn for a
moth-eaten, half-bald, 20-year-old doll? Sentiments? Emo-
tions for a toy? Mamma, you must be kidding.
The writer is a Delhi-based contributor.
EDITORIAL
Why women toil for free in
food-for-work programme
By BRINDA KARAT
In a remote village in Rajgarh block of
Mirzapur district in Uttar Pradesh, before
the outbreak of dawn, groups of workers
make their way to a food-for-work site
where they are digging a large water
conservation tank under the National Food
for Work Programme (FFWP).
There are an equal number of
women in the group of about
70 workers. In the context of
popular demand for at least one-
third reservations for women in
workdays created in employ-
ment schemes, their presence
could be taken as a positive
aspect of the project. But in dis-
cussions with these workers and
hundreds of others at dozens of
similar work sites across the
states of Maharashtra, Bihar,
Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal,
a CPM-organised campaign
unravelled a different story.
The FFWP, redesigned by the
UPA government, is fully funded
by the Centre with the wage
component to be paid in grain and in cash.
There are several problems with the
existing guidelines, including the restric-
tive nature of the works permitted. At
present, only earthwork like digging
tanks for water conservation is carried
out. These infirmities need to be
addressed urgently.
The neo-liberal policy framework has
brought upon an unprecedented crisis in
agriculture. It has inflicted unemployment
and hunger on millions of families
dependent on agricultural work, the avail-
ability of which has sharply decreased to
less than 50 days in a year. Apart from
landless workers, poor peasant families
steeped in debt because of losses incurred
in agricultural operations are also driven
to find work on the FFWP sites. The
successful implementation of this ambi-
Let state government shift out of the city
P ALANIAPPANChidambaram’s concern for
Mumbai is understandable. The finance
minister is worried that infrastructure in
our financial capital is crumbling. But his
solution — a CEO for Mumbai — misses the
real issues. Mumbai’s problems don’t stem
from the absence of authority. In fact, there
are too many of them in the city.
Like Chandrababu Naidu and S M Kri-
shna who took pride in being
described CEOs of Hyderabad
and Bangalore respectively, Ma-
harashtra chief minister Vilasrao
TIMES
Deshmukh wouldn’t mind being
called the CEO of Mumbai. Nor
would deputy CM R R Patil, who is out to
cleanse the city of supposedly amoral in-
fluences. There is a mayor and a municipal
commissioner who are responsible for the
city’s infrastructure. Besides, there is the
Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Develop-
ment Authority (MMRDA) which is meant
to be a nodal agency for the city’s develop-
ment. Why create another bureaucracy
which is sure to clash with the political
Pakistan a British creation
By K SUBRAHMANYAM
According to popular folklore both in
India and Pakistan, Mohammad Ali
Jinnah created Pakistan after he went
back on acceptance of the Cabinet
Mission Plan and when Jawaharlal
Nehru and Sardar Patel, faced with the
British threat of conducting a referen-
dum in every province, succumbed
to pressure. On June 3, 1947, viceroy
Lord Mountbatten presented the
Partition plan and got the Congress
and the Muslim League to agree to it.
This interpretation has been turned
on its head by Narendra
Singh Sarila, ADC to
Mountbatten in 1947, who
argues in a forthcoming
book that the Partition of
India was decided in
February 1946 on Cold War
strategic considerations.
Sarila quotes
telegram of viceroy Lord
Wavell to the secretary of
the
state for India on February
6/7, 1946. Excerpts from the telegram
read: “1. If compelled to indicate
demarcation of genuine Muslim areas,
I recommend that we should include:
(a) Sind, North West Frontier Province,
British Baluchistan and Rawalpindi,
Multan and Lahore divisions of Punjab
less Amritsar and Gurdaspur districts.
(b) In Bengal, the Chittagong and
Dacca Divisions, the Rajashahi divi-
sion (less Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling),
the Nadia, Murshidabad and Jessore
districts of Presidency division and in
Assam, the Sylhet district. 2. In the
Punjab the only Moslem majority
district that would not go into Pakistan
under this demarcation is Gurdaspur
(51% Moslem). Gurdaspur must
go with Amritsar for geographical
reasons and Amritsar being the
sacred city of Sikhs, must stay out
of Pakistan...”
In other words, Cyril Radcliffe did
not draw the Partition lines in 1947.
Wavell drew them in February 1946. On
March 3, 1946, Wavell wired the secre-
tary of state, “The first, most impor-
tant is the Pakistan issue. It is essential
HMG should have some policy on this...
They may decide that the unity of India
is of such importance that they will in
no circumstances allow a complete par-
tition of India and discount the adverse
effect this will have on Muslims not
OPINION
tious project as a precursor to the Employ-
ment Guarantee Act is therefore literally a
life and death issue for millions of our
people. Why else would women and men,
many of them frail and with diminishing
strength, go day after day in temperatures
reaching 45 degrees to dig and lift
hard earth?
But the shame of it is that the producti-
vity levels expected on a food-for-work site
are virtually impossible to achieve. To be
paid a minimum wage a worker is expected
to dig 100 cubic feet that works out to about
4,000 kilograms of mud, often hard
rocky soil which requires much more
effort and energy.
The worker also has to lift the earth and
carry it some distance away. Only if it is for
a distance of 20 metres or more will the
worker get a small supplementary compen-
satory rate called the lead and lift rate.
The two separate labour processes of dig-
ging the mud and then lifting it and clear-
ing the area are combined into one and
paid a single wage all over the country.
What is the magic governments use to
get so much work done? Simply this: Invis-
ibilise the second worker, the shadow who
lifts the earth carrying 30 to 35 kilos of
mud on her head, 150 times a day, some-
times climbing mounds of mud 30 feet
high, to dump the load. To reach the
productivity standards for a single wage
Chidambaram wants a CEO for Mumbai
class and compete for scarce resources?
The state government has to run the
state and can’t devote too much time for
Mumbai. It is not needed either.
So why not shift the government out of
the city? Let the state government, the
assembly, ministerial residences, govern-
ment offices, and babus’ quarters move out
of Mumbai — to Navi Mumbai or a newly-
developed township elsewhere in
Maharashtra. This will free not
just prime real estate but will help
spread resources more evenly
VIEW across the state. A new township
can also absorb some of Mumbai’s
18 million population.
Mumbai’s travails largely stem from
lack of public housing and transport, both
of which are linked to shortage of land.
Rather than allow business — and jobs —
to flee the city, Mumbai’s politicians should
relocate government. Let Mumbai remain
the finance and entertainment capital,
and not be burdened with hosting the
government as well.
only in India but in other parts of the
world and are prepared to face the
consequences that might include civil
war in India and enmity in other
Muslim countries”. Clearly, Wavell was
in favour of partition and he was black-
mailing the British Labour Cabinet
about the adverse consequences of not
partitioning India to British interests
in other Muslim areas.
On April 11, 1946, Stafford Cripps,
heading the cabinet mission asked
British prime minister Clement Attlee
for clarification: “There appears to us
two possible bases of agreement, the
first, a unitary India with a
loose federation at the cen-
tre charged primarily with
control of defence and
foreign affairs (Scheme A).
The second based on a
divided India and the
smaller Pakistan (as in
Wavell’s blueprint
February 6/7, 1946) —
Scheme B”. Attlee’s reply
of
was prompt on April 13,
1946. He wrote, “You may work for an
agreement on the basis of Scheme B
(Pakistan) if it seems to be the only
chance of an agreed settlement. I send
you in paragraphs 2 to 7, the views of
the chiefs of staff for your information
and for the use at discussions...”
The chiefs of staff concluded, “The
alternative of Scheme B (Pakistan) in
spite of the disadvantages listed below
is better than no agreement at all as
this would lead to widespread chaos”.
In other words, the British government
had made up its mind on creation of
Pakistan before the Cabinet Mission
Plan was published. All that happened
from the publication of Cabinet Mis-
sion Plan to June 3, 1947 was coercing
the Congress party to accept partition.
The British prime minister’s an-
nouncement on February 20, 1947 that
“Britain might have to consider hand-
ing over power to the existing provin-
cial governments” left the Congress
with no choice but to accept partition.
Credit, however, must be given to
Mountbatten, for supporting the
Congress’s efforts to ensure that India
was divided only into two parts.
Jinnah was a convenient instrument
for the British against the Congress. It
is no surprise that Pakistan became a
much-needed base for the West in the
Cold War against the Soviet Union.
The Times of India, New Delhi
CONVERSATIONS WITH READERS
Anti-defection Laws
Events in Bihar show that amend-
ments made to the Anti-defection Act
set in different states, actually two workers
are required. In many cases a couple works
sometime ago are not enough to stop
horse-trading. To end defections,
together and it is the woman who does the
earth-lifting. Without her work less than
half the amount specified would be dug.
Yet in all the sites visited, with the
halfway measures will not do. Anyone
elected on a party ticket should lose
his seat if he fails to support the
party’s policies and decisions. A voter
exception of Manidhara village, Sadar generally votes for a party and what it
block, West Midnapore in West Bengal, the stands for. The merits of the candi-
woman worker was not paid at all. date are only secondary considera-
In Manidhara, the panchayat had inter- tion. In the case of a merger, the
vened to ensure equal wages for the woman concerned party sets aside its distinc-
worker. This was done by reducing the tive identity and accepts the policies
productivity standard to 50-60 cubic feet of another party thus shortchanging
per worker so that a couple could the voter. Smaller parties being
complete 100 cubic feet or more gobbled up by larger parties distort
and get double wage. However, and constrict democracy.
even here there was no calcula- — C J M Mathew, Faridabad
tion of earth-lifting as a separate
process but it was only the From timesofindia.com
creative thinking of the pan-
chayat which ensured an equal
wage for women workers.
Gender Bender
In the FFWP sites single In a society where we are con-
women cannot find independent stantly talking of gender equality,
work since the earth-lifting work why do we need to compare the
they do is not calculated sepa- exam results of boys and girls?
rately. We found the most tragic No one likes comparisons, and it’s
examples of two widows work- humiliating for boys to be told
ing together — one digging, the that girls always do better. Isn’t it
other lifting or a mother work- enough to say that women are
ing with two children but even making their mark as equals?
after an 11-hour workday, unable Shouldn’t we stop this irritating
to meet even half the target. habit of comparing the sexes?
In the transport godowns of Ajmeri Gate Shruti Sathe, student
in Delhi, a coolie lifting 4,000 kilograms of
sacks of grain from a truck parked next
to a godown a few feet away would be paid Tax Burden
a minimum of 180 rupees. In Mumbai it The government has decided to levy a
would be double the rate. The rates are service tax on all apartment buildings
low enough. But in villages in government- with more than 12 floors. This means
organised projects earth-lifters do the
that an apartment costing a few lakh
work for free. will be covered by service tax while
There can be little doubt that this savage bungalows worth crores will not come
exploitation has gone unnoticed because under its purview. VAT and fringe
women do most of the earth-lifting. But the benefits tax on transporters have
main problem is the calculation of the already jacked up the cost of building
work itself. The calculation of piece rates material. Is this the Congress’s way of
for earthwork requires drastic overhaul.
helping the aam aadmi?
Each activity like digging or lifting must — B V Rao, via e-mail
be given a separate minimum wage.
Only then will the invisible worker get
her rightful due. Letters to this column should be addressed to Letters c/o
Edit page Editor, The Times of India, 7, Bahadur Shah Zafar
The writer is a CPM politburo member. Marg, New Delhi-110002. email:edit@timesgroup.com
Appropriate idea for India’s financial capital
T HE finance minister’s suggestion that for their inability to take tough decisions
Mumbai needs a CEO has, as expected, due to various political compulsions. Also
created a storm. Shorn of political theatre the chief minister cannot function as the
there is merit in the suggestion. Mumbai is a mayor of a city and focus his entire energy
unique city with unique problems. Though on the state capital. Old concepts are unlike-
the city contributes 35% of the country’s ly to provide new solutions to rejuvenate
corporate income tax and 40% of income tax, Mumbai. And a bold decision like appoint-
yet an estimated 54% of the city’s population ing a CEO who will be able to balance the
lives in slums and 73% of households live in interplay between market forces and gov-
one-room tenements. The quality ernment policies will take the city
of life is becoming poorer and hot
new sectors that are creating
millions of jobs like the BPO
COUNTER to new heights. Projects which
have been hanging fire for a long
time, like the plan to beautify Ma-
industry are bypassing the VIEW rine Drive, are likely to be execut-
city completely. ARCHANA JAHAGIRDAR ed faster and better. Other issues
As Deepak Parekh, well-known like the shape and capacity of the
resident of the city and chairman of transportation system, relocation of pollut-
HDFC, put it, ‘‘If this is a commercial capital, ing industries, waterworks, sewerage, land
it must be a showpiece; it is like a crowded use and so on need to be dealt with objec-
dump’’. Obviously, something is going wrong tively and systematically without extrane-
with Mumbai and if this decay is not ous factors like vote banks, electoral politics
stemmed in time, the city will lose its or even internal party politics clouding the
pre-eminent position that it still holds. decision-making process. And what could
Complex problems like these require a be more appropriate than the commercial
radical solution. Politicians are notorious capital of India being governed by a CEO?
The Basic Nature of Trees
Is to Give Spontaneously
Anger Management By P VENKATESH
Anger will never Once, an old man was planting identical part that reaches
disappear so long as mango saplings in his garden. beneath the earth. This
thoughts of resentment His wife asked him not to indicates that the unseen
are nurtured in the exert himself, as he was not world is replicated and mani-
mind. Anger will going to be around to relish fest in the physical world.
disappear just as soon the mangoes from these The branches of a tall tree
as thoughts of resent- saplings. The old man replied, when laden with ripe fruit
ment are forgotten... “I could eat mangoes in my tend to bend earthwards;
You will not be lifetime because some wise a wonderful combination of
punished for your man planted saplings in his richness and humility. Giving
anger, you will be lifetime. I am planting these is the basic nature of a
punished by your anger. so that the next generation tree. Acting as nature’s air-
Gautama Buddha can enjoy their fruits”. A conditioner, a tree absorbs
tree, indeed, is the heat from surround-
✥
If you are patient in one best monument you ings and gives shade.
moment of anger, you can erect to tell It releases life-giving
will escape a hundred the world about your oxygen in exchange
days of sorrow. contributions. for carbon dioxide.
Chinese proverb Trees have always As long as it is
been part of legend healthy, it supplies
✥
Let this become your
key — the next time
and history. Genesis
day of creation “God
THE fruits and leaves as
says that on the third SPEAKING food for animals. It
provides shelter to
anger comes, just watch
created trees, plants
TREE several birds and
it. Don’t say, “I am
angry”. Say, “Anger is
there and I am watch-
and grass and caused them insects. Even after its disinte-
to grow upon the Earth”. gration, a tree is useful as
Birds, fish, animals and man wood for construction and
ing it”. And see the
were created on following industrial purposes.
difference! Suddenly
days. This account highlights A tree is a life form. When
you are out of the grip
the special place of flora as one plucks a leaf from a tree,
of anger. If you can say,
indicated by this particular living cells around that area
“I am just a watcher,
order of creation. undergo violent disturbance.
I am not angry” then
Buddha is said to have got Scientist Jagdish Chandra
you are out of the grip.
enlightenment under a Peepal Bose invented a device called
Osho tree. Druid Getafix sourced his the crescograph that mea-
✥ herbs from secret trees to pre- sures delicate nerve reactions
When anger rises, think pare the magic potion of invin- of a plant by magnifying
of the consequences.
Confucius
✥
cibility for Asterix. European manifold the minute mechani-
royalty used to carry branches cal movements when exposed
of the Oak tree as symbols of to external stimulus.
I have learned through
bitter experience the
authority. The Americans Human beings are increas-
planted Poplar trees as ingly replacing natural forests
one supreme lesson to symbols of growing freedom with concrete jungles. Every
conserve my anger, and during their liberty move- tree cut is as much a cause for
as heat conserved is ment. Neem, Tulsi and Bel concern as a tiger slain.
transmitted into energy, have both medicinal value and “Trees are poems that earth
even so our anger spiritual connotations. writes upon the sky, we fell
controlled can be trans- A tree is planted on ground, them down and turn them
mitted into a power that grows skywards, and absorbs into paper, that we may record
can move the world. water from ground and this our emptiness”, wrote Kahlil
Mahatma Gandhi water evaporates through Gibran. Unless we follow the
✥ leaves. Thus, a tree symbo- precedent set by the Chipko
Anger fogs lises harmony between three movement of 1973, there
understanding. realms: land, sky and water. might not be enough trees left
Sri Sathya Sai Baba The mystical belief ‘as above, on earth for our own good.
so below’ is attributed to trees. Trees do so much for us; it is
The tree has a top that reaches time we returned the favour.
into the sky, and a virtually Plant or adopt a tree today.