BT AND MAHA BT!

Guest post by Gopinath Mavinkurve

The recent launch program of the BT Brinjal undertaken by the Hon. Minister for Environment, Shri Jairam Ramesh met with several protests from NGOs and social activists, who alleged that genetically modified (GM) crops like BT Cotton had wrecked the lives of farmers with its poor yields, high cost of seeds and rendering of the farmlands infertile for other crops, and so on. So they did not want the BT Brinjal cultivation to be ushered in without properly addressing the side-effects involved. If it wasn’t for protestors, we would have been served with the BT Baingan Bharta by this weekend, I guess!

Had the Government of India been armed with sufficient research data, showing no harmful effects caused by the GM crop, it would not need to put a hold on its launch. Apparently, the protestors’ fears have not been allayed through sufficient clinical tests. So now that we have got the BT Brinjal issue out of our way, it is time to look at another BT issue on our hands today:

The BT Maharashtra Government issue.

Incidentally this Balasaheb Thakarey-run Maha Government is also a GM variety of governance – not genetically modified variety, but a Goonda-giri Mara-mari variety of governance. No matter who is in power, there is always this threat of a ban from the self-appointed, extra-constitutional, parallel ruling power that one has to deal with in Maharasthra, more so, Mumbai, followed by acts of vandalism in public places. This scenario is not new. It is here for several decades.

Did we not learn about MNCs like Enron seeking the blessings of the Sena chief? Or for that matter any rising entrepreneur, sportsman or political aspirant of either party, who has not sought his patronage or support? Did that not make bigger headlines than the same distinguished achiever receiving a State award or honor from the CM of the state in power?

It always did! So why then this huge outcry and questions from the media now, when NCP Leader Sharad Pawar seeks the Tiger’s nod for Aussie players in the IPL, one would ask? I guess it is because the pitch and frequency of the scathing attacks on celebrities, who are worshipped like god in their own fields, like Sachin Tendulkar, Shah Rukh Khan, Karan Johar, Amitabh Bacchan etc. has been on the increase, of late.

Avdhoot Gupte, a popular music director in the regional Marathi film industry, who ventured to direct his first Marathi film “Zenda”, sought clearance from a couple of Senas and some Maharashtra politicians, he explained, in a television channel talk show that it was because the story was based on the political scene in the state and wanted them to clear it to avoid disruption and inconvenience to the lay public. Whether it is this concern for one’s customer or just plain business prudence, this sort of interaction and feedback is certainly better than vandalism and loss to public and private property, besides grievous injury.

In fact, I am a strong advocate of talks and debates, rather than violence on the streets or in cinema halls or the cricket pitch. It is very important, today, for us to know the thoughts of folks like Sachin, SRK, KJo or Big B as much as we need to know the thoughts of Balasaheb. I am convinced over the years, that, though the Senas have resorted to the wrong means, the issues raised have always been important, noteworthy and deserving of attention and solutions. Issues such as immigration, job creation, price rises, lack of infrastructure, incessant building activities carried out by builders, land-grabbing, etc. are real issues, which need to be discussed and resolved and not neglected.

We need to change the approach to our problems and their possible solutions. Take the issue of jobs in Mumbai or Maharashtra. While the Senas are trying to impress the local folks that they are fighting for a better share of the job-cake for them (for political mileage, everyone understands), no one is addressing the real issue of enlarging the cake itself, by increasing the jobs by bringing in investment into industries in the city and state. No thought is being given to the political climate conducive to setting up of new industries! There is no healthy debate involving the Govt in power or these battling senas about why are industries not coming in and instead going out to other states? Why are foreign investors more comfortable with setting up their industries in Gujarat or AP or Karnataka or TN instead of Maharashtra?

Maharashtra is the only state with Octroi imposed for incoming goods in 22 cities of the State right now. It used to be 37 cities until last year and after a decade long tussle that the industry associations had with the bureaucrats in Mantralaya, the abolition of octroi in 2008, was effected only in 15 smaller cities in D Zone, hesitantly.

[Incidentally, Octroi is prevalent only in the State of Maharashtra and in Ethiopia as on date]

Yours truly had the privilege to be part of these discussions. So once, after a high-powered committee meeting, I asked a state government official over a cup of tea, “When will we abolish Octroi in Mumbai?” “Never!” he whispered on terms of confidentially. As he explained to me, the state’s policy is to discourage industry in the Mega-City, so that the MIDC areas in remote areas of Maharashtra become attractive and several incentives are also available for setting up industries there. So we have a carrot and stick policy! A carrot that is not so juicy, so people prefer other states. And several such sticks that are so hurtful that one would even settle for other options. The industrial policy of the state, perhaps does not take into account the existence of other states in India!

If you closely examine this industrial location policy, the logic is great, it is highly effective - in driving out potential investors, though. One thing the Govt of Maharashtra forgets – that such policies may succeed in driving out polluting industries out of cities, but cannot be sure it will not go to other states like Gujarat or even to another country like China! MERC’s (Maharasthra Electric Regulatory Commission) tariff fixation methods are equally responsible for the flight of industry from Maharashtra to the neighbouring state of Gujarat. One has learnt of several instances of power-intensive industries that had been paying Rs 7-8 per unit of electricity moving to Silvassa in Gujarat, which offers electricity at Rs. 2.5 per unit or so! Labour Trade environment and ease of doing business are other factors challenging the state.

One wonders if we need another Sena to highlight these issues or will folks wake up to reality before they find their youngsters leaving to some other state! By which time, the Senas will become redundant, as all the Marathi Manoos would have left the State for greener pastures and there won’t be any living in the Maha State, to fight for! That may be too far-fetched. Let us hope for a better turn of events through some Maha efforts on the part of the Marathi Manoos, by working towards building a better state with the right approach to make Maharashtra the leading destination for industry and investors.
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BHAGWAT'S GAME-CHANGER IN MAHARASHTRA

There is something puzzling but defining about what is happening in Maharashtra.

In the run-up to the last elections, Raj Thackeray had lit and stoked anti-North Indian fires with the "Marathi Manoos" mantra. Every one knows what he did to the Bachchans. Every one also saw the fake tears of Naresh Goyal after he threatened that he would not allow Jet Airways to fly from Mumbai unless its sacked employees were taken back. The disturbing visuals of Raj's boys beating up non-Maharashtrians who wanted to take the Railways exam were also not missed by anyone who watches TV.

During those days, uncle Bal Thackeray and cousin Uddhav Thackeray were on the back foot, not sure perhaps whether Raj's aggressive "Maharashtra for Maharashtrians" strategy would yield electoral dividends, again. In the event, even though he fared much worse than he had anticipated, Raj Thackeray took sufficient number of voters away from the Shiv Sena, the resultant split handing over unexpected 'victory' to the discredited Congress-NCP government that was heading for sure defeat. More significantly, macho Raj Thackeray also ensured that the gentle Uddhav, who led Shiv Sena's campaign, was so humiliated by the worst ever performance of his party, that he was left with little choice but to re-invent himself and his party in a manner that would neutralise the stridency of Raj and bring angry Shiv Sainiks back into the fold.

There were voices even then who were shouting that Raj Thackeray was being made to look bigger than the slight man he is because of the support of the Congress and the NCP. The old 'Bhindranwale Trick', some said, was being employed to divide the opposition, that being the only way in which the ruling combine could hope to get back to power. But, during those days, no one was listening, including the Marathi manoos who were being conned in broad day light into ensuring their own defeat.

Mission accomplished, with both its prime opponents defeated, one was expecting that India's premier national and secular party would take some steps to reclaim Mumbai for India and Indians irrespective of their region and religion. But no, the Congress had a more practical and pressing problem to deal with: it had to ensure that Raj Thackeray remains no more than an irritating but vital 'spoiler'; another Bhindranwale could not be allowed to upset its plans again.

One way of doing it was to place the nation firmly in its sights while ensuring that sentiments of locals were taken care of. The second way was to claim the agenda of Raj Thackeray as its own. Which politician will not choose the easier option these days? So, when the question of granting new licenses to taxis plying in Mumbai came up, the government did a Raj, issuing a diktat that they would be issued only to those who were resident in the state for at least 15 years and could "read and write Marathi".

This stance of the Congress enraged every right-thinking Indian. So, it was no surprise that when Mukesh Ambani was asked a question on the issue during a panel discussion at the London School of Economics, he responded by saying "We are all Indians first. Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi belong to all Indians".

One would have thought that Raj Thackeray would erupt in anger at these welcome-all-Indians remarks of Mukesh Ambani and his goons would vandalise offices of Reliance Industries in Mumbai. But, surprisingly, he did not utter a word. The same thing had happened earlier when Sachin Tendulkar had said that he was an Indian first and that Mumbai belonged to all Indians. Even more surprisingly, Raj did not react at all when Shahrukh Khan spoke in favour of having Pakistani cricketers in the IPL. The same Raj, it may be recalled, had earlier so wanted to take Pakistan out of Mumbai that he had forced a shop owner to change the name of his shop from 'Karachi Sweets' to 'Mumbai Sweets'! One can only wonder what it would have taken a grateful Congress to turn him into such a pigeon.

The Shiv Sena, on the other hand, has now become the new 'Raj'. Bal Thackeray has asked "Pandit Mukesh Ambani" to not "meddle in the path of Mumbai and Marathi manoos". Earlier, he had slammed Sachin Tendulkar and warned him to "keep off the political pitch". A few days back, Shiv Sainiks also demonstrated in front of Shahrukh Khan's home and asked him too to not interfere in politics.

But there is a real twist in the tale this time, one that should shame the Congress. RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat - a Maharashtrian himself - has been quoted as saying that "Mumbai is for all Indians. People of all languages, communities, tribes are children of India. Nobody can prevent Indians from moving to any part of the country in search of employment." Bhagwat also believes that "This is a misconception that employment has decreased at our place because of migrants. Solution of this grievance should be found but the solution is not that you refuse people of your country to migrate to your area. The solution can be found if administration and government are dedicated. All political parties should rising above the vote-bank politics and consider this issue. National integration is above all," Signalling that the RSS is ready and willing to take on both the Shiv Sena and the Congress-supported MNS of Raj Thackeray, he has gone to the extent of asking RSS volunteers to protect North Indians in Maharashtra and prevent spread of anti-Hindi feelings.

This unexpected stance, which has surprised the BJP and come as the proverbial bolt from the blue for the Shiv Sena, has angered Uddhav Thackeray who has again stated in his party mouthpiece 'Saamna' that Mumbai belongs to Marathi manoos. The BJP is in a spot. It is in alliance with the Shiv Sena but cannot go against such a nationalistic view publicly aired by the RSS chief. Even the Congress, semantics apart, cannot now afford to keep towing the Raj-Uddhav line quietly and claiming with any credibility that it is still the same visionary national party that led India to freedom.

A potential game-changer has been introduced into Maharashtra politics by Mohan Bhagwat. If he is serious about pursuing the thrust line that he has so unambiguously articulated, politics in the state is in for a transformation. The alliance between the BJP and the Shiv Sena can then survive only if the latter backs off and effectively gives up its anti-outsider stance. That might well be impossible for it because of the danger that the MNS will become the real Shiv Sena. Be that as it may, as far as the BJP is concerned, it must take the risk and bite the bullet. With both the RSS chief and the BJP President being from Maharashtra, it is in the best possible position to do so. The shining example of neighbouring Gujarat which is speeding away at blistering pace by, among other things, keeping all its doors and windows open to all Indians, is also there for it to show to all.

The ramifications of what the BJP does in Maharashtra are bound to be felt nationally. A window of opportunity is opening up for it in the state, and it must be taken at the tide. Raj and Uddhav are relics of a bygone era. They may incite passions but can only take Maharashtra back as they can do little better than help a non-performing and hopelessly corrupt Congress-NCP government do what it pleases and yet return to power once again. If they are not put out of business quickly, Maharashtra will most likely become the next West Bengal - a wasteland where entitlement by identity will remain but opportunity will go elsewhere. The sooner the Marathi manoos understand this, the better for them - more than anyone else.

BHARAT AND INDIA: ARMED REBELLION AND MENTAL SECESSION

The recent elections in Maharashtra have brought a harsh truth to the surface: rulers of Independent India have failed the people of both Gadchiroli and Mumbai, Bharat and India. How does one draw this seemingly illogical conclusion despite the fact that Naxal-affected Gadchiroli saw a high voter turnout of 63%, while India's commercial capital, despite being hit by India's worst terror attack less than a year ago, could enthuse only 43% voters to get their fingers marked, even though the city was shut officially to enable every one to vote?

Gadchiroli is one of the 160 districts of India affected by the Naxal movement that is active in the states of Bihar, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and parts of Orissa, Kerala and Madhya Pradesh. The Maoists, as the Naxalites are popularly called, are engaged in an armed struggle against the present Indian state because they believe that it has failed to empower millions of Indians who continue to suffer unbearable poverty and exploitation.

There can be no denial that even 63 years after Independence, there remain a vast number of Indians who are leading a sub-human existence. According to the Planning Commission, 300 million Indians are below the poverty line while some estimates suggest that as many as 77% Indians live on less than Rs 20 per day. Naxalites hold sway where the poorest of the poor Indians live. In these areas, schools and primary heath centres are virtually non-existent, there is little or no road connectivity and there are virtually no employment opportunities. To cap it, the already wretched existence of the people has been made even worse by corrupt officials, politicians and feudal landlords. If in other parts of the country, 84 paise of each rupee meant for the aam admi is siphoned off by corrupt officials and politicians, you can imagine that in these 'extreme' areas, virtually nothing has ever reached him.

We have to, therefore, understand that conceptually, Naxalism represents an indictment of the form and frame of the state that has failed to meet its most fundamental obligation to its people despite being in position for so long. Most of us living in relative comfort in the cities have a one-dimensional view of the Maoists. However horrifying and unacceptable that may be to us, we must remember that there are still a few among the affluent lot whose hearts not only beat for these unfortunate, helpless and exploited fellow Indians, but they have even given up lives of comfort to be with them and guide them in their struggle to get out of their very dark pit.

Kobad Ghandi, who was arrested last month, is an unlikely political mentor of the Maoists. He hails from an affluent family from Mumbai, was Sanjay Gandhi's classmate at Doon School and did his Chartered Accountancy from Oxford. His wife, who died of malaria last year, also was from Mumbai. Yet, the couple gave up the good life and chose to devote themselves to what is essentially a noble cause. Ravi Sharma, an agricultural scientist from Andhra Pradesh and Anuradha B his wife, both arrested yesterday, also did the same.

If the cause that the Naxals have taken up is so undeniably just and one that rightly shames free India, then why is it that in Gadchiroli so many people turned out to vote for the politicians who have been exploiting and failing them for over half a century? Is it not damning evidence that the alternative that the Maoists promise and have delivered so far is worse than what the netas have? The Maoists may be in almost complete control of many areas, but that is manifestly more due to the power of the gun in their hands than the ideas in their heads. They are employing a very old and failed ideological tool to obtain a social solution in an entirely different age and setting. The very poor man may know that they are working for him, but by now he has also discovered that this is not the deliverance he is looking for. So, he has been forced to choose between the lesser of the two evils before him. He simply has no other choice.

Since 2005, Naxal violence has claimed an average of sixty lives per month. And, as the recent beheading of police inspector Francis Induwar in Ranchi and the killing of 17 policemen in Gadchiroli shows, the danger posed by Maoists is too real to be ignored any longer. Dr Manmohan Singh was not wrong when he says that Naxalism poses the greatest internal security threat to the country. Home Minister P Chidambaram has also shown rare political resolve to use force to defeat this challenge that some politicians have been exploiting - anything new? - for petty political gains.

No matter what bleeding-heart liberals and human rights activists bubbled in Delhi might say, it is the sacred duty of the state to ensure that the law of the land prevails and that ordinary citizens are not terrorised by anyone promising a better future at the point of a gun. One can keep arguing in TV studios about state-sponsored terrorism, ideology etc, but that must not deflect us from the task of ending the prevailing anarchy with minimum loss of time and life.

The people of Mumbai, by keeping away from the voting machines in these troubled times, have also unmistakably conveyed the message that they have lost faith in the ability and intention of politicians to do what they are expected to. They too have have sent a signal, again, that the manner in which the country is being governed generates no hope in them, no matter which party is in power. This is particularly true for the elite and the middle class as they are the ones who have stayed away from the voting booths.

The people of Mumbai, unlike those of Gadchiroli, have not voted because they can afford to not vote for the lesser evil. Why? Because they have another option. They can, as Rajdeep Sardesai says, "secede mentally if not physically" from the Indian state and become "resident non-Indians". As long their comfortable lives are not touched by the failures all around them, save for a few minor irritants that they have learnt to live with, they don't give a damn about what happens elsewhere. They lives are not confined to and stymied by the many failures of India that have kept nearly 900 million Indians in darkness without hope. They can manage with and without the state and its unresponsive instruments. They know voting is not going to change anything. So they don't want to waste their time and effort taking part in what has become a mockery of democracy.

This "mental secession" of the elite from the rest, of India from Bharat, is what led to the mess in the first place. The biggest mistake newly Independent India made was to do little more than change the colour of the skin of its rulers. No effort whatsoever was made to replace the colonial tools of governance, deliberately designed by the British to maintain a clear and unbridgeable gap between the elite and the natives. The British had a motive for creating an elite that looked up to and aspired to be as much like them as the colour of their skin allowed, and as distant from and superior to the natives they were expected to keep firmly in control on behalf of their masters.

When free India opted for an inherently flawed model of democracy not suitable for a large and diverse country like India, even that exercise remained confined to the legislature only. The judiciary, administration and police remained as colonial as they were before Independence. The involvement of the people in governance has, thus, remained mostly limited to casting their votes every few years. The rest of the government machinery remains as aloof and arrogant and above them as it always was. In fact, over time, even politicians, the only ones that normal Indians have a say in choosing, have also become equally, if not more, removed and distant from the people whose voice they are supposed to be.

Of late, there is a democracy-killing trend that has gathered great momentum. A few hundred political dynasties, big and small, have emerged across the country and taken vice-like control. Though there are over a thousand political parties in India which should indicate that the democratic process is robust, exactly the opposite is true. There is no inner party democracy in most parties and many of them, big and small, are no more than family fiefdoms.

This has happened primarily because politics, like the colonial administration, police and, to some extent the judiciary, is becoming a platform for plundering India. That is what the British did too. But they were here precisely for that purpose. This was not their country. It is India's misfortune that the elite they created and the politicians who have succeeded them, are doing exactly the same, exceptions apart. The only difference now is that the loot remains largely in India, if it is not rotting in Swiss banks.

This is not the value system or the model of governance that is going to deliver the people of Bharat from the misery being inflicted on them by the ruling elite of India. All that it is going to do is to ensure that the Bharatiyas who break out of their hell-holes, despite the government or due to it, will also choose the easy way out and mentally secede from Bharat. They too, like the present elite of Mumbai and elsewhere, will seal themselves in their comfortable bubbles and just shut themselves out from the misery and poverty that writhes but a few feet away.

Yes, Naxals post a grave threat to the security of India. Yes, they are employing unacceptable tools and an ideology that has invariably inhumanly oppressed the very classes it is supposed to uplift. But is any one else in the country seriously committed to the task of trying to lift almost a billion souls out of despair? Let us not hide behind 'trickle down' theories and some such nonsense to justify our insensitivity and failure as a nation.

The example of China is before us. So we can't pretend that it can't be done, and wave the 'empowering' flag of democracy in front of the deprived and the hungry. Our models of democracy and governance have failed thus far and the disastrous direction that they have taken of late will ensure that they will not succeed in future too. So, while putting down of the armed rebellion of Maoists is essential, it will succeed only if we show even greater resolve and firmness in simultaneously putting away the tools that have failed Bharat and perpetuated colonial India.

I read a tweet somewhere which said that we must ban from politics the 400-odd families that have taken over India. That may sound silly, but it tells us that dishonest cosmetic changes will not work. This nation did not fight for Independence to live with armed rebellion on one side and mental secession on the other. Both are equally dangerous and both need to be addressed urgently and honestly.
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4. Corrupt, colonial India faces volcano
5. Covering up the mother of all corruption scandals
6. Conspicuous consumption and conspicuous poverty

MAHARASHTRA GOES TO POLLS

Guest Post by Anil Mavinkurve

Maharashtra, a great state as the name signifies, was indeed a great state once upon a time. It now rests on its past glory that has been fading rapidly. It is now a poor shadow of itself and states like Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh have almost become equals.

This is a state that is:

• in the midst of one of the worst agrarian crisis in the country in recent history

• afflicted by Naxalism that is making deep inroads in the eastern districts of Gadchiroli and Bhandara districts,

• affected by massive power shortages, where 80% of the state goes without power for 12 – 15 hours every day,

• Plagued by large number of irrigation projects initiated and have not been completed for twenty years or more,

• Vulnerable to external and home grown terrorist attacks,

• Industry that has gone to seed and cannot provide the basics to attract new investments.

• Growing social disquiet with caste based inequities and against migration from other states.

• People crushed under the tremendous burden of sharp price rises.

It would be a “no brainer” to write off the ruling political dispensation and start drafting its epitaph.

Any opposition party would have rubbed its hands in glee and ensured a rout at the hustings. Sadly, they are weak, divided, focused on inane non issues and have endangered their prospects in many constituencies by high command politics.

The Congress-NCP alliance at the helm of affairs for the last ten years has been a case study in masterly inaction with Mr. Vilasrao Deshmukh the head priest of this effort. The picture becomes more sinister when you see the massive corruption, callousness, and utter disregard towards governance.

The Shiv Sena – BJP alliance is going round trying to catch its own tail. Power is theirs for the taking. Will they grab at this opportunity??....I think they might be successful in snatching defeat from the jaws of a certain victory. An angry sibling is most certain to play spoiler once again and split votes to ensure that he still remains relevant.

The BJP does not have any charismatic candidate to lead them. Gopinath Munde seeks to take on the mantle of Pramod Mahajan but unfortunately there is just no comparison. He has in his desperation to ensure Poonam Mahajan’s candidature, endangered at least two seats where BJP were certain victors. Nitin Gadkari, an otherwise efficient administrator, has just not risen to the occasion.

How is Maharashtra going to vote today? It certainly is a big khichdi.

Guessing the voters’ minds is a hazardous occupation and best left to pollsters. We would all like a change, just for the sake of change if not for anything else.

You never know. We may yet surprise everyone and return Congress-NCP back to power and coin a new maxim….”In Maharashtra, you can fool all the people all the time”.

Come October 22^nd and our destiny shall be clear.