Obama another bush: Of nose cuts and shame

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Obama’s war on Libya sans US Congress' approval is opening new doors of controversies

It's raining trouble for Obama and his administration. This time the reason being Barack Obama declaring Libya a no-fly-zone and allowing military intervention to free the country from the 'dictatorship' of Muammar Gaddafi.

And here is the twist: All these have been done without the approval of the US Congress which has consequently invited immense discontentment and dissatisfaction from Republicans as well as Democrats.

Apparently, any action taken by the American President, which might have a nationwide implication, cannot be taken without the knowledge of the US Congress. According to the US Constitution, the President is required to seek approval from the Congress before waging war against any foreign regime. Ron Paul, a Republican Congressman, sharply criticised Obama’s act, commenting that “the no-fly-zone over Libya is an act of war, and it needs approval from Congress.” Even Democrat Congressmen like Dennis Kucinich called Obama's move “impeachable.” So much so that a group of Liberal Democrats – Donna Edwards from Maryland, Jerrold Nadler from New York, Barbara Lee from California among others – have questioned “the Constitutionality of President’s actions.” The discontentment is rising with every additional American troop or fighter aircraft being sent to the Libyan mission.

Republican Senator Richard Lugar has raised high doubts on “US interests being served by Barack Obama’s actions.” From the economical point of view, this act on Libya would only cost the US further, which already suffers an extremely high fiscal deficit. The Iraq and Afghanistan costs are also far from over. This would also strengthen anti-American sentiment and protests on the Arab streets. With NATO announcing that the tentative duration of the no-fly-zone could be three months, further possibilities of civilian deaths and demolition of existing infrastructure loom large, which would cost the world massively again after the operation is over.

A recent CNN public poll revealed that seven out of ten Americans have supported US military action on Libya. But it is also true that three American cities have already gone to streets to protest... and there are predictions that more will soon follow. Strangely, Obama's recent acts do not differentiate him much from former American President George Bush – except that Bush was cunning enough to justify his actions more eloquently. Also, Bush had garnered criticism for much of his action post the Iraq 'victory', while Barack Obama is facing flak here and now. With latest news trickling in that Gadaffi might after all retain power, even the brownie points Obama wanted to gain from US citizens seem to be flittering away...

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Poisonous land: Due to indiscriminate use of toxic pesticides

After Irom Sharmila last year, Anna Hazare wins IIPM's 2011 Rabindranath Tagore Peace Prize of Rs. 1cr. To be handed over on 9th May

Due to indiscriminate use of toxic pesticides, the environment is spewing death and disease in several districts of Kerala

Swarga is a beautiful hilly village in Kasargod, Kerala's southernmost district. But do not go by the name. The place resembles hell. Death, disease and tragedy haunt 15 gram panchayats around the cashew plantations of Kasargod.

In the late 1970s, helicopters sprayed poisonous pesticides on the cashew plantations here to wipe out tea mosquitoes. The operation wiped out much more than just the mosquitoes.

According to official statistics, from 1995 onwards, more than 500 deaths have occurred due to the spraying of Endosulfan in Kasargod district. But unofficial calculations put the number of deaths at 4000 plus since 1978, when aerial spraying started.

For three decades, the Plantation Corporation of Kerala carried out aerial spraying of Endosulfan on their cashew plantations spread over 4,700 acres in Kasargod. Endosulfan is a toxic pesticide banned in many countries.

Villagers residing near the plantations are now paying the price for this disastrous move. Though the spraying was stopped and Endosulfan was banned as a result of a prolonged people's struggle, many people in this area are still battling health issues like physical deformities, mental disorders, cancer, nervous problems, and pregnancy-related complications.

Water sources in this region are totally contaminated. A large number of children and women are among the victims. Diseases, which include childhood blindness, physical retardation and cancer, have been linked to exposure to Endosulfan. Future generations aren't safe either. According to experts, Endosulfan residues measured in cow milk and meat in Kasargod district are over 100 times the permissible level.

As an impact of social pressure and an initiative of Kerala chief minister VS Achuthanandan, the state government set up a relief and remediation cell for Endosulfan victims in 2007. The cell has so far compensated around 180 families of those who died of poisoning. With the help of the district administration, the cell is now trying to rehabilitate over 3,000 villagers. However, the cell's functioning is hamstrung by inadequate funding and bureaucratic red tape. As in the case of the Bhopal gas tragedy, the Plantation Corporation of Kerala has no liability to compensate or rehabilitate the Endosulfan victims.

The demand to ban this killer pesticide is rising all over the world, but the Indian government is reluctant to consider this suggestion. Moreover, ignoring protests, the government strongly opposes the international move to ban Endosulfan, which is already banned in at least in 70 countries. Even after the tragic ramifications, toxic pesticides, including Endosulfan, are still being indiscriminately used in various parts of the state. On the advice of 'agricultural experts', farmers widely use toxic pesticides in plantations and paddy fields, rendering even water and soil poisonous. These pesticides are sprayed in cardamom, tea and banana plantations in Idukki district. A study conducted by Thanal, a Thiruvananthapuram-based voluntary agency, showed that the sale of toxic pesticides in a single block in Idukki district exceeded official estimates for the entire state. The usage of pesticides per hectare in the district was very high compared to the state and national averages. Palakkad district, too, has a higher than average use of pesticide per hectare. The state average is about 343 grams a hectare. The study showed that around 170 pesticide products were in use in Idukki district. Many of them belonged to groups that have high toxicity. Even banned pesticides have reached Idukki and other districts without proper labels or brand names.

Mango plantations of Muthalamada in Palakkad district also use poisonous insecticides, including Endosulfan, which is easily available in Pollachi and other border towns in Tamil Nadu. To skirt around the ban on Endosulfan in Kerala, plantation owners and farmers buy it from the pesticide stores located across the state border. There aren't any concrete measures in place to check this inter-state transportation of toxic pesticides.

In Kuttanad, regarded as the 'nellara' (rice bowl) of Kerala, the situation is extremely alarming. The presence of toxins in human beings, animals, fish, water and the environment is very high. Approximately, 28,000 hectares of paddy fields, spread over the districts of Alappuzha, Kottayam and Pathanamthitta, are under rice cultivation in Kuttanad.

A study conducted by Thiruvananthapuram Medical College has reported very frequent cases of cancer of the lip, stomach, skin and brain, lymphoma, leukemia and multiple myloma from Kuttanad, linking the same to high pesticide use in the area. 'About 72 per cent of food samples in India have shown the presence of pesticide residues within tolerable levels while in 28 per cent samples they were above the permissible level compared to 1.25 per cent globally,' points out Dr P Indira Devi, professor in agricultural economics, Kerala Agricultural University, who conducted a study of pesticide usage in Kerala.

As at the national level, pesticide consumption in Kerala also has recorded decline in recent years. 'But the intensity of use (quantity per hectare) in the state has increased. In contrast to the national pattern. Fungicide use in Kerala is much higher (at 57 per cent) than the the use of insecticides. This is generally attributed to the higher proportion of plantation crops in the state,' she says.

The study conducted by Dr Indira Devi also reveals that pesticide consumption is the major method of suicides in Kerala. 'Of the 900 to 1,000 suicides/year, 60 per cent are by consuming pesticides. The autopsy reports from government medical colleges in Kerala showed that more than 95 per cent of poisoning deaths were due to insecticides.'

Kerala has a long history of pesticide tragedies. A pesticide tragedy claimed 102 lives and severely poisoned 828 persons in 1958. The incident led to the enactment of the Central Insecticide Act 1968 'to regulate the import, manufacture, sale, transport, distribution, and use of insecticides with a view to prevent risk to human beings or animals and matters connected therewith.'

But in Kuttanad, Idukki, Palakkad and other parts of Kerala, the worst is far from over.

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With Rahul Gandhi's emphasis on galvanising the party's moribund youth cadre, the Congress believes its prospects are beginning to look bright

After Irom Sharmila last year, Anna Hazare wins IIPM's 2011 Rabindranath Tagore Peace Prize of Rs. 1cr. To be handed over on 9th May

An ace up his sleeve

It is well known in Congress circles that if there is anyone who cares most dearly about its future, it is its president Sonia Gandhi. The second name on that list is Rahul Gandhi. While under the UPA-I dispensation, Sonia Gandhi focused hard on 'achievements' of the party, the same period was used by Rahul to activate Congress' youth cadre. The Left Front, then supporters of the government, were the watchdogs: an opinion sought from the Left would entail such a research-based reply that the issue in concern would cease to be relevant. In other words, problems use to take care of themselves.

But UPA-II has been different. In the face of strong tearaway criticism of the government recently in the 2G payoffs and embarrassing exposure from WikiLeaks on the monies paid to buy votes of Members of Parliament (MPs) during the 2008 no-confidence vote, the pressure from the party on the government has been nearly as strong as it was from the Left Front during the UPA government's first term.

Those leaders in the Congress who were worried about the future of the party as well as the Gandhi family, have changed colours. Under pressure from the party high command, every little grievance now needs redressal, a routine party report cannot just be pushed under the carpet or treated casually. It has to be acted upon and pronto.

For instance, Sonia Gandhi was recently in London when a Delhi newspaper published a report of how a former union minister close to the family had utilised the services of a small time Congressman to buy MP votes. According to well placed party sources, Sonia ordered a report to be placed on her table before she returned from her sojourn explaining the potential damage that WikiLeaks may have caused the party.

The party report suggested that not much was likely to happen to the UPA in WikiLeaks, if anything it would be the BJP which would have a lot to answer. Instead, this committee which dealt with challenges and possibilities, has proposed that economic reforms need a human face, inflation be brought down, relief be given to the rural sector and young Congress cadres be organised at booth level.

The party is now leaning on the government to implement the proposals of this report. Cleverly, the Congress decision to involve the public accounts committee (PAC) in the 2G investigations is designed to keep it at loggerheads with the JPC, which is pursuing a similar probe and has already summoned Tata chairman Ratan Tata and Niira Radia.

According to Congress calculations, state elections in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal would be over and the party could then devote itself to strategising for the future. But central to all these themes is the invigorating of youth cadres which have the desired energy to get involved in mass contact programmes. Importantly, this team of leaders close to Rahul Gandhi believe that old party organisations had failed to promote a second, well defined line of leadership and that this is the time to activate that second line.

In the same vein, the party has prepared a Vision Paper 2014, which points out that regional parties have adroitly exploited regional sentiments, cashing on regional problems and soaring aspirations. In the context, the Paper has said that the party should stop thinking about the two-party system and instead concentrate on coalition governments as they were the immediate foreseeable future.
The recent seat-sharing arrangements that Congress has entered into with regional parties going to polls, is a result of that thought process. Both in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, it has Trinamool and AIADMK respectively. General Secretary Oscar Fernandes told TSI that "regional sentiments cannot be ignored.'' Asked if the party would think of accommodating the SP or BSP in the UPA or contest elections jointly, Fernandes said since these parties were not part of the government, that possibility has ruled itself out.

The Paper has clearly set out a target – or more specifically, sought to maintain one. It believes that the 206 seats and 28 per cent vote share that it got in the 2009 elections, should be kept intact.

To attain that goal, the Paper says that logistical support and organisational strength are critical. No better evidence of it comes than from the party headquarters at 24 Akbar Road where currently about 25 jeeps with UP-32 registration numbers are parked waiting to go to West Bengal for the assembly elections. Before this, in the Bihar elections, Rajasthan numbered cars were sent from the same location. The trend began with Rajiv Gandhi when he sent out brand new Maruti Gypsies for poll campaigns: no surprise that none ever came back and rumour has it that one former MP from eastern UP still uses an old Gypsy!

According to Rahul's concept of logistical support, the need for cars is different this time. The party plans to give them to needy candidates, wherever required. In addition, funding of candidates and providing them with uninterrupted publicity material is on the cards.

Emphasising the need for elementary poll booth management, cadres in Bihar, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh have been put through a Back to Basics course, whose preliminary session ended around Holi and the second is likely to resume after Navratras.

Says BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad, "Our Back to Basics meant for the 2014 general elections has been stolen by Congress' heir apparent Rahul.'' Retorts Congress general secretary Janardan Dwivedi: "We are always prepared for elections and there is no question of copying the BJP. Had we done that, we would have been sitting in the Opposition.''

But as ever, UP remains the most elusive prize the Congress and its president aspire for. Working towards that and inducting Beni Prasad Verma into the Union Cabinet is part of the new initiative. Verma – with his own vision 2014 – has reportedly told the high command it may not be a bad idea to work out some sort of understanding with Ajit Singh in western UP to strengthen the party's base.
Not surprisingly, a majority of those involved in Rahul's ambitious plans are the youth. According to party observers, these are long-term prospects, but if pursued consistently, could produce unexpected results when the country is ready to go in for General Elections 2014.

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IIPM BBA MBA Institute: Student Notice Board

IIPM is one of India's Renowned B-School. It is very student's dream to get admission in IIPM. IIPM has been fast emerging as India's New Age B-School. IIPM is a Business School run by the Internationally Acclaimed Management Guru Professor Arindam Chaudhuri. It ranks among the top notch Business School Of South East Asia. It was establised by renowned economic visionary Dr. M. K. Chaudhuri in the year 1973. IIPM has 18 Branches through out the country. It offers premium courses in BBA, MBA and EMBA.

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After Irom Sharmila last year, Anna Hazare wins IIPM's 2011 Rabindranath Tagore Peace Prize of Rs. 1cr. To be handed over on 9th May

Our prizes indicate the intellectual shift from West to East

After Irom Sharmila last year, Anna Hazare wins IIPM's 2011 Rabindranath Tagore Peace Prize of Rs. 1cr. To be handed over on 9th May

The Bharatiya Manavata Vikas Puraskar, an initiative by the Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM), honours those intrepid and inspirational souls who set examples by being the change they wanted to see. Dr. Malay Chaudhuri, founder director of IIPM and chairman,IIPM awards committee, shares the vision behind this mission of invoking in each Indian the wisdom and will to touch lives, and make the nation proud.

(1.) What is the vision behind the awards?

In the very first prospectus of IIPM, way back in 1974, we wrote that the aim of the institute is to develop a three dimensional personality. We shall not only make experts in the field of management, but also help students cultivate the taste for literature, arts and inculcate within them a commitment to society. The moment we found the opportunity, we took the initiative to award those from the field of literature – and thus started the Surama Chowdhury Memorial International Prize in Literature (in 2008).

The prize money ($100,000) was almost double the amount awarded for Magsaysay Award (also known as the Nobel Prize of Asia) instituted by Philippines. In 2010, we instituted the Rabindranath Tagore Memorial International Prize, the total award money for which (1.1 million euros) slightly exceeded the one for the Nobel Prize for Literature (1 million euros). Thereby, we emphasised our right to go beyond Western values while deciding what good literature is. The 2009 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Barack Obama who in reality did not take any peace initiatives. It was expected of him to take some peace initiative in Afghanistan. We now know that he initiated bombings in Afghanistan and even parts of Pakistan by sending drones.

Instead, people like Dr Binayak Sen and Irom Sharmila should have been considered for the Nobel Peace Prize. We may soon initiate the founding of the Tagore Memorial International Peace Award, with a minimum award purse of 1.1 million euros. Thereby, we shall challenge the right of the West to decide what may be considered as a ‘peace initiative’. Our prizes indicate the intellectual shift from the West to the East.

How soon do we see the Bharatiya Manavata Vikas Puraskar going international?

We shall do that soon. We want to see recipients of these awards from various other nations.

(2.) Do you think the government has gone wrong with the whole Binayak Sen episode?

Our government is known more for corruption and wrongdoings. It is the characteristic of the government that those who fight for the poor are victimised and sent to jail. Therefore, let me not comment on what the government should do or not do. We want and demand that they, at least, release people like Dr Binayak Sen from jail so that such individuals can carry on with their peaceful activities, namely, helping the poorest of the poor in the field of health and nutrition.

In fact, not only Dr Binayak Sen, but all our awardees have done excellent work in their chosen fields. They deserve to be icons for our youth. We are very careful in choosing our awardees. They are not necessarily people who are well known. For example, Ms Prakash Kaur was someone we read about in The Sunday Indian. After reading the story, we thought that this lady has not been recognised and she is engaged in one of the most inspiring activities. Such are the people we want everyone to know about and take inspiration from.

(3.) What is your message to today’s youth?

The system is not democratic since it is not based on equity and peace. It is easy to manipulate illiterate masses to create vote banks and win elections. No political party thinks of the poor.

Children should be taught from childhood onwards that they should not be a prey of greed; that they should share with the poor who are also entitled to a life of dignity.
If India’s upper middle class and rich sections stay away from obscene, vulgar, conspicuous consumption, the poor could be provided with adequate food, education, health and social security, and thus they may escape suffering from malnutrition. 17% of our population, namely, every sixth Indian dies before he/she is forty. The youth of India must change all this. They must.

In pictures:

(1.) Dr Malay Chaudhuri lighting the inaugural lamp to the Bharatiya Manavata Vikas Puraskar evebt; in the background is Swami Shantatmananda Maharaj of Ramakrishna Mission.
(2.) Dr. Kiran Bedi, one of the recipients of the Bharatiya Manavata Vikas Puraskar.
(3.) Dr. Malay Chaudhuri

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IIPM celebrates selfless service

After Irom Sharmila last year, Anna Hazare wins IIPM's 2011 Rabindranath Tagore Peace Prize of Rs. 1cr. To be handed over on 9th May

In a highly intellectual event, the Bharatiya Manavata Vikas Puraskars are awarded by IIPM to six transformational leaders committed to positive social change and equality.

1. It is worth walking the extra mile if at the end of it you know you have brought about a meaningful and positive change. In the same spirit, The Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM) honoured six individuals from different walks of life with the prestigious Bharatiya Manavata Vikas Puraskar for treading that extra mile. This award is given for the commitment to bring about a positive change in the society and for championing the cause of equality, social justice and human welfare. The award ceremony, organised in New Delhi on March 28, 2011, was presided over by Swami Shantatmananda Maharaj of the Delhi branch of Ramakrishna Mission.

The distinguished award, which additionally has a prize money of five lakh rupees, a gold medal and a citation, was conferred upon Dr Kiran Bedi, Prof. Ilina Sen, Dr Binayak Sen, Prakash Kaur, Justice (retd) V R Krishna Iyer and former Chief Election Commissioner of India, T. N. Seshan. It is one of the various awards that IIPM has instituted to celebrate the spirit of sacrifice and selfless giving.

2. Speaking on the occasion, Dr Malay Chaudhuri, founder Director, IIPM, and Chairman, IIPM Awards Committee, while commending the awardees for their commitment towards their respective causes, said, “In the absence of economic planning in India, social welfare and poverty alleviation programmes are never successful. This leads to criminalisation of the society and the exploitation of the poor at the hands of the rich and the corrupt.” The ultimate cause of uprooting poverty and injustice from the country is very close to the heart of Dr. Malay Chaudhuri.

Thanking IIPM for the award, the most respected social activist and former IPS officer, Dr Kiran Bedi said, “It gives me immense pleasure as this award will go a long way in contributing towards my cause.” She urged the IIPM students and civil society to join hands against corruption and exhorted them to work for the welfare of the poor at the grassroots level. Dr Kiran Bedi runs the NGOs Navjyoti and India Vision Foundation; and supports various social causes like prison reform, child welfare and prevention of drug abuse.

3. Prakash Kaur received the award for her unrelenting mission of rescuing unwanted and unclaimed newborn girls and giving them a secure home and future. “I feel grateful for this award,” said Kaur, overwhelmed with emotion, “It gives me immense satisfaction to be among the people who support humanitarian causes and are ready to help all those in need. I am an insignificant person and yet the IIPM awards committee selected me for this prestigious award.”

Prof. Ilina Sen and Dr Binayak Sen were individually awarded for their dedicated efforts in restoring sustained focus on human rights in Chhattisgarh and for ensuring social justice for the tribals. In the absence of Dr Binayak Sen, his wife Prof Ilina Sen received her husband's award too. Dr Ilina Sen, who has embraced a life full of difficulties, said, “I thank IIPM for the awards. The Bharatiya Manavata Vikas Puraskar has boosted my morale. It feels as if I am not alone in the ordeal through which my family is passing. This award has made me forget my pain for some time and I strongly hope that our struggle for social justice in Chhattisgarh and other parts of the country would produce the desired results.”

Retired Justice V R Krishna Iyer, who is over 96 years of age, could not make it to the awards function. Consequently, the award was received on his behalf by Dr Vinod Sethi, Secretary General of Capital Foundation Society, and a very close associate of Justice Iyer for several years. The iconic former election commissioner, T N Seshan, who was awarded for his commitment in bringing about electoral reforms and reinstating the confidence of the electorate in the democratic process, also could not turn up at the awards function because of ill health. He, however, conveyed his acceptance in a mail: “I consider this as the recognition of the vital role of democracy in the country... Thank you for selecting me. I accept the award with humility.”

4. Congratulating all the recipients of the award, Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri, Honorary Director, IIPM Think Tank, said, “Our focus should not be the survival of the fittest... It should be the survival of the weakest. Unfortunately, in our society, the exploitation of the weak by the powerful and the corrupt further pushes the weaker sections to the margins. With a non-functional judicial system and an equally inefficient policing system, the real criminals are always outside the prisons while those who cannot manage the money required for their bail are left to languish inside.”

In a message sent to IIPM, Justice Iyer echoed the sentiments of Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri. “Money rules and today no one seems to be above the power of wealth. Our elections are victimised by money power. It is unfortunate. Swaraj gained after a do-or-die struggle has become a casualty after Independence.”

IIPM over the years has instituted various awards in social development, literature, culture, peace and in other specific areas to recognize people who have contributed extensively in their respective fields. In August 2008, IIPM instituted the Surama Chowdhury Memorial International Prize in Literature to acknowledge the contribution of individuals in the field of literature. In April 2010, IIPM instituted the Manavata Vikas Award, which was conferred upon academicians like Dr Ashok Sanjay Guha and Prof Sunanda Sanyal, popular economists like Gurcharan Das and Swaminathan S Anklesaria Aiyar, and social thinkers like Shuvaprasanna Bhattacharya, Medha Patkar and Mahasweta Devi.

5. In May 2010, once again, IIPM instituted the Rabindra Smriti Puraskar in Kolkata and honoured some of the greatest individuals who have contributed in spreading Tagore’s consciousness through their works among the general mass – actor Soumitra Chatterjee, singer Suchitra Mitra, social visionary Dr Tushar Kanjilal and novelist Selina Hossain of Bangladesh. Once again, in August 2010, IIPM felicitated Irom Sharmila Chanu, the Iron Lady of Manipur with the Rabindranath Tagore Peace Prize for her determined decade long struggle to revoke the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act.

In the same year, IIPM had also declared the Rabindranath Tagore Memorial International Prize, with an award money of around Euro 1.15 million (or Rs. 7 crore), a purse that is greater than that of the Nobel Prize. The first such award would be given away in May 2011 on the completion of the 150th birth anniversary of India’s first Nobel laureate, Rabindranath Tagore.


In pictures: (1) (L to R) Prof. Ilina Sen receiving Dr. Binayak Sen’s award from Swami Shantatmananda Maharaj, Mrs Chaudhuri & Dr. Malay Chaudhuri (2) Dr. Kiran Bedi being awarded by Swami Shantatmananda Maharaj and Dr. Malay Chaudhuri (3) Prakash Kaur receiving her award (4) Prof. Ilina Sen accepts her individual award (5) Dr Vinod Sethi (centre) receiving the award on behalf of Justice V R Krishna Iyer

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