Tackling Terrorism

A series of bomb blasts, x people dead, y injured, 24x7 news coverage, Ministry of Home Affairs huddle, REACTIVE police action, rhetoric, mud slinging, finger pointing, political opportunism, top IPS officers suspended, a debate topic for intellectuals, angry and helpless common man, talk about spirit of the city, sanction of funds for police modernization, blame game and using of colors saffron/green. And as always, tolerant Indian society moves on. Tolerance may be a virtue, it is high time we unsubscribe from this. Let me explore some relevant questions.

Who funds terror ?

We have heard of black money being siphoned off from India. How does this money travel abroad ? Not through a plane or a ship neither can it be transferred through bank accounts (as it would be white then). One way to transfer black money is 'hawala'. Suppose you need to send B-money to a Swiss bank (tax haven). At the same time there will be money from opium trade outside India willing to reach in terrorist hands inside India. The intermediary takes your money gives it to the terrorist within India and the opium trade money goes to your Swiss bank account.

You buy real estate or gold from the tax money you evaded. All money finally accrues up in the hands of big businesses which in turn use the hawala route. Though very small, there is a probability that your black money helped terrorists.

Why do the Indian police/intelligence agency fail to stop 0.1 % of the attacks ?

Our police is a system that still works on the 1861 Indian Police Act. Police is in the state list, i/e- state government has control over the police system. State can chose to improve it, make it worse or maintain status quo. To improve police system requires political will - this comes through coercion ( as has been proved in the past). Unless a civil society movement (of the RTI, RTE, Lokpal sorts) brings the government to its feet, political will won't come.

Democracy in India comes for a month during five years and then it vanishes into the ballot box. Government won't do anything. For our democracy to work we need a vigilant civil society and terrorism (read black money and police reforms) should be high on its agenda.

The Unusual Suspects: Paid news scandal - a lifeline for UPA

Prelude - Many important events and incidences take place in such a manner and it may seem just a coincidence or the reason may seem to be quite straight forward. But I do not believe in coincidences, I like freakonomics' way of exploring things & I believe in conspiracy theories. In the blog series - "The unusual suspects", I have tried to explore the hidden reality behind some of the recent events. I DO NOT have material evidences for what I would present but I would try to give valid arguments.

Few months back we heard about a syndrome called "Paid News". Paid news or paid content are those articles in newspapers, magazines and the electronic media, which indicate favourable conditions for the institution that has paid for it.The news is much like an advertisement but without the ad tag. This kind of news has been considered a serious malpractice since it deceives the citizens, not letting them know that the news is, in fact, an advertisement. Secondly , the payment modes usually violate tax laws and election spending laws. More seriously, it has raised electoral concerns because the media has a direct influence on voters.

Two member committee was set up by Press council of India to examine the paid news scandal. The committee came up with a report but the release was then "deferred" and the report was referred to a larger group of Council members who were to decide within three months on how it should be presented because some council members argued that "'it would destroy the publishers' credibility and hurt their long term interest". Finally PCI came out with a much watered down version of the report without any of the specifics detailed in the original which explicitly named newspapers and channels — including some of the biggest groups in the country — seen as having indulged in the “paid news” practice. The original report was not made public.

A plethora of scams have come to the fore in the past one year, records have been broken and new heights have been set by the UPA-2. At the same time the country is reeling under inflation, food prices are at an all time high. The list can go on. A free media would sensationalize these and bring the government to its feet. But interestingly, most media houses are walking a fine line. They are more focused on the less important things.

Ramdev's agitation was in news for so long - what it did was killed time and shifted the focus away from the more important issues like Lokpal. The sensationalisation of UP crime scenario took precedence over CAG report on Reliance power/KG Basin/Oil ministry which is potentially another scam of epic proportions. I do not support crimes in UP, but are they something new ? Is it something specific to Mayawati ? If it is due to lacklusture security scenario, isn't UPA guilty too by delaying police reforms even after repeated Supreme Court orders.

Whenever there is an issue in the opposite camp, the head of UPA marketing team Rahul Gandhi and his puppet-chatter box Digvijay Singh reach the scene to extract political mileage out of it (and in actuality doing nothing). Most media houses show this 24x7 and give the front page space. Is farmer's suicide an issue of lesser importance? Is Lokpal of lesser importance? Is UPA policy failure and rise in food inflation of lesser importance?

This is nothing but a UPA-media(which ones? - Are hidden in the report) nexus. UPA won't take any action by letting out the names and in a return favour media will continue making a mockery of democracy.

(Note - I have nothing personal against UPA or a media house. Neither do I have an allegiance to any political group.)

The crisis of tolerance and the crisis of intolerance

India is probably going through the most tumultuous times since the mid 70s. On the socio-economic front - inequality is at an all time high though the burgeoning middle class is a positive sign. On the political front - leadership deficit is at an all time high. While there is a huge political vacuum in the country, no political front can claim moral responsibility over that space.

Let me demarcate the Indian society into three broad classes - The upper class, middle class and the lower class. Half of the upper class has a strong nexus with the government, the other half doesn't care. Middle class is very tolerant towards corruption and see it as a necessary evil, they go with the flow. Lower class fights tooth and nail to fill it's stomach daily, how can they find time. Moreover, in the absence of strong leadership - middle class and the lower class can do nothing.

Communal riots, casteism, honour killings etc show the extent up to which Indian society is intolerant. At the same time Indian society is strangely tolerant towards farmer suicides, child labour, exploitation of women(including dowry and other evils) and corruption at all fronts.

A fraction of the civil society - Anna Hazare, Arvind Kejriwal and co. (baba excluded) are trying hard to provide the much needed leadership but they can do nothing without the people of India. India is a democracy where government is the reflection of its people. The current political scenario is not due to the corrupt government but due to its people who are tolerant and intolerant towards the wrong things. It is the crisis of tolerance and the crisis of intolerance more than anything else.

As individuals, the least we can do is to instill in our hearts - "I will never give or take bribe" , "I will never give or take dowry" , "I will never employ child labour" . More can be added to this list.

The need for social reform

‘Democracy’ and ‘Socialism’ are two important words in the preamble to the constitution of India. This in effect provides for a welfare state in which the popularly elected government is responsible for basic services that can be grouped under physical and social infrastructure.

India lags behind in both – physical and social infrastructure. There are various reasons for this and almost all of those are attributable to the failure of service delivery mechanisms. Even government of the day accepts that less than 17 paisa out of 100 reaches the intended target. RTI, UID project, and Lokpal Bill are noteworthy steps in the direction to improve service delivery mechanisms and ensure accountability.

It seems that we are on the right track but a critical piece is still missing in the Indian jigsaw. Abraham Lincoln said – “Democracy is the government of the people, by the people, for the people”. We elect the government, we make the government and we hold the government accountable. The failure of our government is our failure but we do not accept it. It is our tendency to find faults elsewhere. The notion that ‘System works this way only’ is ingrained in us partly because we do not want to take the pain to find the right way and partly because we are status-quoist. No Lokpal, UID or any other legislation can give us freedom of thought.

Are we aware? Even if we are aware, are we fearless enough to pursue affirmative action? We have to take the path less traveled, we need a social reform and we need a mental revolution.