MOTHER TONGUE AS MEDIUM OF INSTRUCTION:

N.Nandhivarman

If anyone says, "I will not speak English" in England he or she won't, say it in English. They will say " Me na vyn cows sawsnak". Who are these people? They were the speakers of Cornish, a language of Cornwall England, which became extinct in 1777. A Primary school in Pondicherry Chief Minister's constituency "Periyavar Swaminathan Ninaivu Palli" has a motto. Study English but not Study in English. Both these language speakers by such assertions are for one goal. Preserving their native tongues. The first case is for revival of Cornish language, in which they are showing signs of achievement. Second case is an experiment to impart primary education in mother tongue fearing disappearance of Tamil in the thinking process and ex-pressions.

United States of America annexed Hawaii in 1898 and banned teaching of Hawaiian in schools. The Anglicization of education led to almost extinction of Hawaiian language. So to revive their mother tongue as medium of instruction Hawaiians created in 1983 "Aha Punana Leo" which means language nest. Aha Punana Leo was created to reintroduce their native language throughout the state including its public schools. Hawaiian language pre schools were opened in 1984 followed by secondary schools. By 1999 the first graduates in Hawaiian language came out of their colleges. This is a success story at the revival of a mother tongue.

Linguists all over believe that out of 6120 languages spoken in the world 3400 will disappear by 2100. Many languages had become extinct. Manx, the language of Isles of Man disappeared in 1974 when its last speaker breathed his last. In the Caucasus region the death of a farmer in 1992 resulted in the death of Ubykh language. UNESCO had prepared a Red Book on Endangered Languages and to promote multilingualism had been celebrating International Mother Language Day on Febraury 21^st every year from 2000. UNESCO adopted Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity, which " encourages international community to take steps to protect intangible heritage, including languages, in the same way natural and cultural treasures of tangible heritage are protected". This is the way wind is blowing globally.

Every mother tongue must be preserved seems to be the driving force for intellectual growth of humanity. In a rare coincidence, in spite of being classical language efforts are needed to revive the Tamil medium of instruction, for fear of extinction of Tamil in everyday usage. And the primary school situated Puducherry is a school with a difference. They teach Spoken English to nourish the proficiency of English language but at the same time want to stimulate thinking process in Tamil. To commemorate the memory of Late Swaminathan who was the President of Dravida Kazhagam in Pondicherry state during seventies, his son S.Nedunchezian had donated land to Senthamizh Trust for starting this school.

N.M. Thamizhmani who runs the Trust ran from pillar to post at every step to cross hurdles and raised the finances to build this school. With the approval of the Government of Pondicherry this school is conducting classes in PRE-KG, LKG, UKG and from 1 st to 4 th standard.

A tiny baby Ashwini walks out of a class, we ask her " In which class you are studying? She replies I am doing "Arumbu" which means pre-kinder garden. Lower Kinder garden (LKG) class is named as Mottu, UKG is known as Malar. The children call the Head Mistress as Amma, teachers as Akka and Annan. The star performer of the school Nilavarasi who studied from pre kg here and now in IV th standard states that "Our teachers never used cane, never threatened us, we are brought up with love and care".

Nilavarasi now is the star dancer of the school that teaches Music, Dance, Painting and Computers too. She and all the children are proud of their school. It is surprising that amidst craze for English education in the mushrooming private primary schools, parents are willing to send their children to a Tamil medium primary school. If the history of education in Pondicherry is written from the days of French many institutions have come up and grown with the help of philanthropists. This Tamil Primary School is another example of the public contribution in education. It is surprising to find these children doing well in spoken English classes, and justifying their motto "Study English but not Study in English". They are proficient in both languages. A pre-kg student is able to recite 30" Thirukural "stanzas with ease.

Looking to America, the speakers of 540 Native American languages admit that language is essential for perseverance of a culture of the past generations and that culture in turn is important to the future of native peoples. Many cultures and languages are racing with times to preserve their languages. Washington Post publishes a story ( 31.3.2003) about Northwest Tribe Struggles to Revive Its Language. Indian Country Today report ( 23.10.2002) speaks about a Meeting to preserve the Lakota language. Squeamish Nation puts together CD-ROM to teach its language. Native Language Institute works to stave off decline of traditional tongues. Linguist begins effort to preserve native Alaskan language.

Christian Science Monitor story (11.6.2002) speaks about Tribal immersion schools rescuing language and culture. Research is on the Effects of Including Native Language and Culture in the Schools. You will be surprised at the attempts made at preserving the 540 native languages in America where we all think English is the undisputed monarch. Like preservation of flora and fauna, preservation of all languages is the goal of human race now. None wants uniformity but crave for unity amidst diversity.

If we clone all human race as one alike, then the world will become the asylum of the mad. The Periyavar Swaminathan Memorial School is a living testimony for such struggle to preserve the native tongue and Senthamizh Trust led by N.M.Thamizh Mani shows the aspirations of miniscule sections of society who are torchbearers of the Gandhian concept to impart education in one's mother tongue.

Carter Center urges U.N. Assembly not to re-elect Sri Lanka to Human Rights Council

[TamilNet, Monday, 19 May 2008, 15:30 GMT]
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter’s Atlanta based Carter Center, in a statement issued on Friday has urged the U.N. General Assembly not to re-elect Sri Lanka to the Human Rights Council in the upcoming Council elections. Six countries — Bahrain, Japan, Pakistan, South Korea, Sri Lanka, and Timor Leste ' are competing for four open seats in the Asian Group of U.N. member states. The Carter Center urges delegations to support the candidacies of Bahrain, Japan, Pakistan, South Korea, and Timor Leste because these governments have demonstrated a greater commitment than has Sri Lanka to the advancement of human rights.

Full text of the statement from The Carter Center follows:

Statement From The Carter Center on Upcoming
U.N. Human Rights Council Elections

16 May 2008

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The Carter Center calls on the General Assembly not to re-elect Sri Lanka to the Human Rights Council in the upcoming Council elections. Recently adopted reforms of the former Commission on Human Rights, including competitive elections, call for the conduct of a government to be a factor in whether it is selected for a seat on the Council.

In a March 5, 2006, New York Times opinion piece on the establishment of the Council, five Nobel Laureates, including former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, wrote, “With these new procedures and the articulation for the first time of standards for membership, we believe the new body will be led by countries with a greater commitment to human rights.” The expectation was that governments submitting their candidacies would be judged on their performance on human rights issues as a test of willingness to tackle tough problems and to assess honestly human rights violations wherever they occur.

Political resolve to abide by the new provision will be tested in the coming round of election to the Council’s membership. Will candidates be judged by their peers on the basis of their commitments to improve human rights conditions in their countries? There must be no return to the old habit whereby regional blocs would offer uncontested slates for election, during which the merits of any country’s particular qualifications for membership were never questioned.

Six countries — Bahrain, Japan, Pakistan, South Korea, Sri Lanka, and Timor Leste ' are competing for four open seats in the Asian Group of U.N. member states. The Carter Center urges delegations to support the candidacies of Bahrain, Japan, Pakistan, South Korea, and Timor Leste because these governments have demonstrated a greater commitment than has Sri Lanka to the advancement of human rights. However, numerous nongovernmental groups have raised concerns about Sri-Lanka’s candidacy due to the country’s deteriorating human rights record since its first election to the Council in 2006. For example, Sri Lanka has one of the highest rates of enforced disappearances in the world, with little or no discernable commitment to accountability.

To re-elect states with deteriorating human rights records would undermine the Council at a time when it should be taking steps to shore its credibility as the principle platform for addressing human rights violations.

It is our hope that by electing states that demonstrate through their actions a commitment to furthering human rights, the Council will become a more courageous and united voice on behalf of victims of human rights violations.

Sri Lanka not fit to be in UN Rights Council- Tutu

[TamilNet, Thursday, 15 May 2008, 11:36 GMT]
“With a terrible record of torture and disappearance, Sri Lanka doesn’t deserve a seat on the UN human rights council. It should be voted out,” says the first black South African Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, South Africa, in a comment that appeared on the daily Guardian, U.K., May 15th edition.

Full text of the article follows:

It would seem self-evident that a country which tortures and kidnaps its own people has no place on the world’s leading human rights body. Apparently not: Sri Lanka, despite repeated criticism for its human rights record, is running for re-election to the UN human rights council, with a vote to be held in New York on May 21.

Governments owe it to Sri Lankan human rights victims - and to victims of human rights abuses around the world - to ensure that the Sri Lankan bid fails. This will be an important test of the 47-member council, to show that the UN’s standards for it will be honoured.

If Sri Lanka is defeated this year, that will be important not just for the Sri Lankan human rights leaders who, at great personal risk, have called for Sri Lanka’s defeat, and for Sri Lankan civil society. In combination with the humiliating defeat last year of Belarus, it will send an important signal for the future: governments with track records of serious human rights abuses do not belong on a body set up to protect the victims of such abuses.

Sri Lanka has failed to honour its pledges of upholding human rights standards and cooperating with the UN since joining the council two years ago. Indeed, its human rights record has worsened during that time. The Sri Lankan idea of cooperation with the UN, meanwhile, has been to condemn senior UN officials (including the high commissioner for human rights, Louise Arbour, and the under secretary general for humanitarian affairs, John Holmes) as “terrorists” or “terrorist sympathisers.”

The systematic abuses by Sri Lankan government forces are among the most serious imaginable. Government security forces summarily remove their own citizens from their homes and families in the middle of the night, never to be heard from again. Torture and extrajudicial killings are widespread. When the human rights council was established, UN members required that states elected must themselves “uphold the highest standards” of human rights. On that count, Sri Lanka is clearly disqualified.

The separatist Tamil Tigers have used despicable tactics in their war against the government, including frequent suicide bombings. But that can in no way excuse the scale of government abuses.

Fortunately, the news from the council is not all bad. Countries running from other regions of the world have credible claims to be leaders in promoting human rights. Argentina and Chile, which suffered terribly from torture, enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings in the past, have become leading supporters of human rights, and now seek to join the council. On the African slate, there are some true human rights leaders, and - thankfully - no candidacy from Zimbabwe or Sudan. In the entire world, Sri Lanka stands out as the most clearly unqualified state seeking election to the council this year, and the place where things are getting unambiguously worse.

Defeating the Sri Lankan candidacy would be a comfort to the people of Sri Lanka. It would place international pressure on the government to respect human rights, and to accept a UN human rights monitoring mission, which it has stubbornly refused. It would help make the council a place where true human rights leaders in all regions can help lead the world towards greater respect for human life and human dignity. An outcome, in short, that would benefit those who care about human rights in the world. Any other result would be a travesty.

Third nobel laureate opposes Sri Lanka’s bid to UN Rights Council

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 20 May 2008, 10:52 GMT]
Following objections filed by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, and South African Archbishop of Cape Town, Desmond Tutu, against selection of Sri Lanka to U.N.’s Human Rights Council, a third nobel peace laureate, Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, from Argentina, in a commentary published by Página 12 in Buenos Aires, “compared the routine torture and the hundreds of ‘disappearances’ and extrajudicial killings committed by Sri Lankan government forces to the ‘dirty wars’ waged by various Latin American governments against their own citizens in the 1970s and 1980s,” a press release issued by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) said.

"As Latin Americans know all too well, there are few crimes more horrible for a government to commit than summarily removing its own citizens from their homes and families, often late at night, never to be heard from again," declared Esquivel, the report said.

"Latin American governments can do a great service to the people of Sri Lanka by rejecting their government's candidacy for the Human Rights Council," the report added.

The Nobel laureates added their voices to the Sri Lankan and international campaigns against the re-election of Sri Lanka to the council. Human rights organizations within Sri Lanka urged UN members to "hold the Sri Lankan government accountable for the grave state of human rights abuse in the country" by rejecting its candidacy, observing it "has used its membership of the Human Rights Council to protect itself from scrutiny,” the release further said.

Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch (HRW), a New York based rights watchdog, in a press release said: “The Nobel laureates added their voices to the Sri Lankan and international campaigns against the re-election of Sri Lanka to the council. Human rights organizations within Sri Lanka urged UN members to "hold the Sri Lankan government accountable for the grave state of human rights abuse in the country" by rejecting its candidacy, observing it "has used its membership of the Human Rights Council to protect itself from scrutiny." “

Esquivel won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1980 for his opposition to the "disappearances," extrajudicial killings, and torture used by the military government of Argentina in combating domestic terrorists.

Elections to the 47-member council, the United Nations' leading human rights body, will be held in New York on May 21, 2008. Six candidates ' Bahrain, Japan, Pakistan, South Korea, Sri Lanka, and Timor Leste ' are running for four seats allocated to Asian states. Council members are required to "uphold the highest standards" of human rights and "fully cooperate" with the council.

இந்தியா எங்கும் பேசப்பட்டது எந்தமிழ்!
சீனாவுக்கும் சென்றது செந்தமிழர் நாகரிகம்

(நா. நந்திவர்மன், பொதுச்செயலர், திராவிடப்பேரவை, புதுவை.)

பாபாசாகேப் முனைவர் பி. ஆர். அம்பேத்கர் எழுதிய சூத்திரர் வரலாறும் தீண்டாமை
தோன்றிய வரலாறும் என்ற நூலை ஒவ்வொருவரும் ஊன்றிப் படித்தாக வேண்டும்.

“திராவிடர் என்னும் சொல் ஒரு மூலச்சொல் அன்று. தமிழ் என்ற சொல்லின் சமற்கிருத
வடிவமே இந்தச்சொல். தமிழ் என்ற சொல் முதன் முதலில் சமற் கிருதத்தில் இடம்
பெற்றபோது தமிதா என்று படிக்கப்பட்டது. பின்னர்த் தமில்லா ஆகி முடிவில்
திராவிடா என்று உருத்திரிந்தது. திராவிடம் அல்லது தமிழ் தென்னிந்தியாவின்
மொழியாக மட்டுமே இருக்கவில்லை. மாறாக ஆரியர்கள் வருவதற்கு முன் இந்தியா
முழுமைக்குமான மொழியாக இருந்தது. காசுமீர் முதல் கன்னியாகுமரிவரை பேசப்பட்ட
மொழி” யாகத்” தமிழ் திகழ்ந்ததை அம்பேத்கர் அழகுறப் படம் பிடித்துக் காட்டுவார்.
வட இந்தியத் தமிழர்கள் சமற்கிருதமொழியை ஏற்றதன் காரணமாகத் தென்னக
மொழியாக-திராவிட மொழிக் குடும்ப மொழியாகத்-தமிழ் தாழ்வுற்றது. இதை
மெய்ப்பிக்கப் பல சான்றுகளை அண்ணல் அம்பேத்கரே கூறியுள்ளார். அவருடைய
சிலைகளுக்கு மாலையிடும் சடங்கைத் தவறாமல் செய்யும் தலைவர்கள் மேற் சொன்ன அவரின்
இரண்டு நூல்களையாவது படித்திடல் வேண்டும்.

தமிழ் மொழியின் பரவல் பற்றிப் பல சான்றுகள் கிட்டிய வண்ணமுள்ளன. ஒன்பதாம்
நூற்றாண்டில் இருந்து பதின்மூன்றாம் நூற்றாண்டுக்கிடையே தமிழ் எழுத்துகளில்
செதுக்கப்பட்ட 8 கல்வெட்டுகளைத் தென் கிழக்காசியா விலும் சீனத்திலும்
கண்டெடுத்துள்ளனர் என்று தென்கிழக்காசிய ஆய்விதழ் 1998 (Journal of South Asian
Studies -1998) கூறுகிறது.

இணையத்தில் விடுதலைப்புலிகள் ஆதரவு பெற்ற இணையதளம் ஒன்று வானிருந்து பெய்யும்
குண்டு மழைக்கிடையேயும், வீழ்ந்திடும் பிணமலை களைத் தாண்டித் தமிழுக்கு
உலகெங்கும் பரவிய ஈழத்தமிழர் களின் அருட்கொடைகளை வெளிச்சமிட்டு ஏழாயிரம்
பக்கங்களில் காட்டுகிறது. சீனாவில் உள்ள காண்டோன் பகுதிக்கு 500 கற்களுக்கு
அப்பால் சுவான்சௌ என்ற துறைமுக நகரில் தமிழ்மொழிக் கல்வெட்டுகள் பற்றி
மலேசியாவில் உள்ள முனைவர் செயபாரதி 10, பிப்ரவரி 2006 இல் எழுதிய கட்டுரையை
www.tamilnation.org என்ற அந்த இணையதளம் வெளியிட்டது.

“வழக்கமாகத் தமிழர்கள் தாய்லாந்தில் உள்ள மேற்குக் கரைத் துறை முகமான
‘தாகுவா-பா’ வுக்குக் கலங்களில் சென்றடைவர். அங்கிருந்து நிலவழிச்செலவாக நகோன்
சிதமராத் அல்லது சொங்க்வா துறைமுகப் பட்டினத்தை அடைவார்கள். இத்துறைமுகங்கள்
தாய்லாந்தின் கிழக்குக் கடற்கரையில் உள்ளவை ஆகும். அங்கிருந்து கப்பல்கள் மூலம்
வியட்நாமியத் துறைமுகங்களைச் சென்று சேர்வர். வியட்நாமில் வேறு கப்பலில் மாறிச்
சீனாவின் காண்டோன் மாநிலம் நோக்கிச் செல்வதுண்டு”

நேரடியாகத் தமிழகத்திலிருந்து கப்பல்களில் செல்லவேண்டுமானால் வங்காள
விரிகுடாவை. மலாக்கா நீரிணைப்பை, சயாம் வளைகுடாவை, தென்சீனக்கடலைத் தாண்டி
மலேயத்தீபகற்பத்தைச் சுற்றிக் கொண்டு செல்ல நேரிட்டிருக்கும். பல திங்கள்
பன்னூறு கற்கள் மிகுதியாகச் செல்ல விரும்பாமல் தமிழர்கள் குறுகிய வழியில்
கப்பல்கள் மாறிச் சீனம் சென்றுள்ளனர். கிழக்கிந்தியக் கம்பெனியும் டச்சு
பிரஞ்சு போர்த்துகீசியரும் வணிகக் குடியேற்றங்கள் இந்தியாவில்
உருவாக்குவதற்குப் பன்னூறு ஆண்டுகள் முன்பே தமிழ் வணிகர்கள் சீன நாட்டுக்
கண்டோனில் குடியேறினர். பல ஊர்களில் தமிழர்கள் குடியேற்றங்களை அமைத்தனர். நம்
மிடையே ‘சைனா பசாரோ’ ‘பர்மா பசாரோ’ வராதபோது சீனத்தில் தமிழர்கள் அங்காடியும்
தமிழர்கள் வாழும் ஊர்களும் இருந்தன. ‘திசை ஆயிரத்து ஐந்நூற்றுவர்’ என்ற தமிழ்
வணிகர் களின் வணிக அவை சீனத்தில் செல்வாக்குப் பெற்றிருந்தது. தமிழ்க்
கல்வெட்டுக் கண்டெடுக்கப்பட்ட சீனத் துறைமுகமான சுவான் சௌவில் சிவன்கோயில்
ஒன்றுள்ளது. சீனப் பேரரசன் சேக்கிசைக்கான் உடல் நலிவுறவே அவர் குணமாக வேண்டி
‘சேக்கிசைக்கான்’ ஆணைப்படி சிவனின் படிமம் அக்கோயிலில் நிறுவப்பெற்றது.
கல்வெட்டு சேக்கிசைக்கான் என்று தமிழ்ப்படுத்தி அழைப்பவர் பேரரசர் குப்ளாய்
சேக்கான்கான் ஆவார். சிவன் கோயில் திருக்காளத் தீச்சுவரம் எனவும் சிவனுக்கு
திருக்காளத்தீச்சு வரம் உடைய நாயனார் என்ற பெயரும். சித்திரை முழுநிலா நாளில்
கி.பி. 1203-1281க்கு மிடையே அக்கோயிலைக் கட்டிய சிற்பி தவச்சக்ரவர்த்தி
சம்பந்தப் பெருமாள் ஆவார்.

குப்ளாய்கான் 1260-1294க்கு மிடையே ஆண்டவர். சீனப் பேரரசன் செங்கிசுகானின்
பேரனாவார். செங்கிசுகான் மறைவுக்குப் பின் சீனப்பேரரசு நான்கு மண்டலங்களாகப்
பிரிக்கப்பட்டது. அதில் ஒரு மண்டலத்துள் சீனா அடங்கி இருந்தது. மங்கோலியப்
பேரரசருள் குப்ளாய்கானே இன்றைய சீனத் தலைநகர் பீசிங்கைக் கட்டு வித்தவனாவான்.
அவனாட்சியில் தமிழ்க் கோயில் கட்டப்பெற்றுத் தமிழ்க்கல்வெட்டுப்
பொறிக்கப்பட்டது. தமிழக அரசு தமிழறிஞர்களைச் சீனா அழைத்துச் சென்று தமிழர்
நாகரிகம் அங்குப் பரவிய உண்மைகளை உலகுக்கு உணர்த்திட வேண்டாமா? சீனப் பெருஞ்
சுவரன்று, செந்தமிழ் நாகரிகம் பரவிய இடங்களே சீனத்தில் தமிழன் சுற்றுலாச்செல்ல
வேண்டிய இடமென இயம்புமா தமிழ் அரசு?
www.thelithamizh.com
READ ABOVE IN :
–
nandhivarman

THE GRANDEUR OF SENJI THE FORT OF VALOUR

N.Nandhivarman

"The Travels of Father Pimenta in 1597" led him to Senji, the Fort town in Tamil Nadu 60 kms away from Pondicherry coast. " Oh! It is bigger than any city in Portugal, except that of Lisbon " he exclaimed. Kindt in 1614 on his visit admitted that Senji is as large as Amsterdam. Jean Deloche, the noted historian from the Ecole Francaise D'Extreme Orient of Pondicherry frequented Senji for 6 long years to do research and in his valuable French treatise "Senji Ville Fortifie'e du pays Tamoul (2000) "says, "Senji, immortalized by Desingh's ballad, still popular in South India, is a significant place in the Tamil country. Successively occupied by the Hindus of Vijayanagar, the Nayaks, the Muslims of Bijapur, the Marathas, the Mughals and finally by the French in 1750, it was, at the end of the sixteenth century, one of the biggest cities of the peninsula."

C.S.Srinivasachari in his "History of Gingee and its Rulers" (1943) narrates the ground situation thus " It is a melancholy reflection for the historian, that what was once a scene of bustling animation, the dazzling military pomp, can boast at present of only few humble habitations, with a handful of peaceful agriculturalists. Where once chargers pranced in martial array, the bullocks drag the plough share, goaded by a half naked farmer and the spider weaves its web where rulers once sat in state and administered the affairs of the realm."

The Fort may be in ruins, the town may have lost its grandeur, but among the rulers only one name and that too of a young boy hailing in a family that came all the way from Bundhelkand to rule a Tamil territory has been adored for his valour and folklore made his name immortal in peoples memory. Yes it is Raja Desingh who flashes in our mind whenever we think of Senji. M.G.Ramachandran played the role of Raja Desingh in a Tamil movie, but his fans could not digest the death of the hero and the film failed at box office. But in real life the memory of Raja Desingh is "preserved even to this day in every town and village of South India. The wandering minstrel sings to groups of villagers under the banyan tree of the heroism of Raja Desingh of how he loved and fought and fell," says C.S.Srinivasachari.

The Moghul Monarch Aurengazeb made a chieftain from Bundhelkand, Swarup Singh, the ruler of Senji in 1700 A.D. Swarup Singh passed away in his old age in Senji in 1714 A.D. Hearing his death, the son of Swarup Singh, Desingh started from Bundhelkand towards Senji. At that juncture he would never have dreamt that the journey to immortality had started. Since a firman had been granted by Aurengazeb in his father's favour by way of hereditary right Desingh took up formal possession of the jaghir. The Nawab of Arcot Sadatullah Khan was aghast at this assumption of office, since Swarup Singh was a defaulter to the tune of 70 lakhs for a prolonged period of a decade. This contentious issue led to an uneven war. Nawab Sadatullah Khan's army comprising 8000 horsemen and 10,000 soldiers marched to capture Senji. Raja Desingh had only 350 horses and 500 troopers but he could not be cowed down by brutal force. He stood up against a mighty army and fought till last breath. His queen immolated herself in the funeral pyre. Thus a young Rajput of 22 years old got a unique place in the history of Senji, a fort of many a siege and wars.

Now while researches are undertaken the amazing facts about Senji are emerging slowly.

"This site is particularly interesting for a student of military architecture, because it is the only one in India where a full sequence of the defense systems used in the subcontinent, from the Vijayanagar period to the European conquest, can be observed. It is also the only one where we can follow, for at least four centuries, the adaptation of the defense to the progress of artillery" That is how Professor Jean Deloche of the Ecole Francaise D'Extreme Orient describes in his French book Senji (gingi) Ville fortifie'e du pays Tamoul published in 2000 with 40 line drawings and 334 photographs. This book is the only one of its kind and we have to wait for another six months to see its English version in print.

In his researches Jean Deloche is stunned by " the deep knowledge of water management, a noteworthy engineering skill and boldness of enterprise. Water is made available throughout the year because it is stored in the weathered granite mass, acting as sponge or a filter and reappears as springs in natural reservoirs called "sunai". On the six fortified hills, all depressions, cavities, anfractuosities, deep fissures, fractures, where water could be stored have this way been used. Moreover they were systematically enlarged by addition of a brick wall "

This impregnable fortress had fallen in alien hands and such defeats are made a post mortem by a French scholar Bourdot in his book "18 th Century Pondicherry." "It was a revolt amongst the besieged that opened the gates to Bijapur's army. It was an act of treason that enabled the Maharatta Shivaji to take possession of it in 1677. Without the help of corruption the place would never had fallen to the Moghul power twenty years later. Lastly it is doubtful whether Bussy with his 200 men would have been able to succeed in just few hours, with a raid that resulted in the surrender of the garrison, had it not been the panic and terror that could overcome the most courageous of the defenders during a night attack contrary to all rules especially that night was without moon or stars and when the assailants are yelling demoniacally in an unknown tongue". M.Bourdat deserves due applauds for placing these truths in the pages of history to set the record straight.

Jain Saints had dwelled in the hills of Gingee from 2 nd century to 6 th century, as evident by many stone carvings and other evidences of being citadel of Jainism. Gingee was under Pallava Emperors between 600 to 900 AD. Chozha Emperors ruled Gingee between 900 to 1103 AD. In the stone epigraphs at Aanangur of Athitya Chozhan (871-907) and of Athiya Chozhan II (985-1013) it becomes crystal clear that Chozha Emperors ruled Gingee. Pandya Emperors, Chozha Rulers and Hoysala Kings ruled between 1014 to 1190 AD. Yadhava kings ruled Gingee between 1190 to 1330 AD. It came under Vijayanagar rule from the fag end of 14 th century and for 150 years it was under Vijayanagar rule. It saw the rule of Bijapur Sultans between 1649-1677 AD. Maharastrians ruled from 1677-1697. Moguls were in power from 1700-1750 AD. It slipped between British and French rule from 1750. This is in nutshell the historical imprints left on Gingee, and for such a Fort which has a history dating back to 1800 years if proper publicity is made in abroad it will definitely attract world tourists. It also needs the help of world agencies that protect heritage to improve its infrastructure and other amenities.

The Fort at Gingee declared as National Monument from 1921 is under the Archeological Department. Its history and the archeological finds in its vicinity must be publicized to promote archeological and historical tourism. But no steps are afoot in governmental promotion of archeological and historical tourism. It is a miracle that a Fort that has seen many a battle is still there for everyone to see. The Collector of South Arcot recommended to the Board of Revenue in 1803 to demolish the Gingee Fort fearing it may fall into the hands of French. Around 1850 again someone wanted to convert Gingee Fort into a depot for storage of salt. . Fortunately these suggestions were not carried out.

We have a living monument, a marvel which should be utilized properly and Union Tourism Ministry must contemplate on marketing Senji in the Tourism market.

LAWLESS PUDUCHERRY WHERE ANTI CORRUPTION WING IS IN PARALYSIS

Dravida Peravai is amused at recent attempts in political circles to go to Courts seeking the intervention of Vigilance and Anti Corruption department in Government of Puducherry.Even if Central Bureau of Investigation files cases, it had taken more than 30 years, but the 14 cases are pending. Long arm of the law fails to punish the culprits. Dravida Peravai brings out the statistics available in

http://www.pon.nic.in/stategovt/govtdepts.htm

where the Chief Vigilance Office had provided with a staggering list of 3900 cases pending in various courts, cases where CBI had nabbed the culprits. The irony of the situation is that the statistics starts in 2002 and ends with 2003 July. Chief Vigilance Officers, who were in office after 2003 till date are keen to keep the people in dark about the CBI cases booked in between 2003 July and April 12^th of 2008.

What is baffling is the lack of transparency in the working of the Chief Vigilance Office in Puducherry. They have given only statistics. They say till 2003 CBI cases are 3975.The Chief Vigilance Commission at national level during the time of the tenure of N.Vittal, published the list of officers against whom corruption cases are filed.Dravida Peravai urges the Chief Vigilance Office in Puducherry to publish the list and against whom on what charge CBI had filed the corruption cases in various Courts. The current Chief Vigilance Officer must update this website to cover the tenure of current government and it should be updated to till date of 2008.The Lt.Governor of Puducherry must order for a probe on the lawyers representing the Government to find out why they could not get conviction for 3975 cases, or replace the existing team of Government counsels here and Government Pleader in High Court, in order to bring speedy justice to the cases filed by Central Bureau of Investigation. It appears the Vigilance and Anti Coruption Department is not filing cases against corrupt officials in Puducherry Administration had had washed its hands shifting the responsibility on CBI. Is is not a shame on the Officials concerned.A white paper on CBI/Vigilance cases is sought.

Dravida Peravai released a White Paper on The Srilankan Tamil issue. It organized an all party meeting to discuss the whole issue. Its view may not be acceptable to all but in a democracy various views have to be discussed and no view point could be suppressed in a civilized democracy like India. We reproduce the condensed version of the White Paper released by www.TamilCanadian.com, foe which we thank them. As appearing in Tamil Canadian.com, the text follows:

We have been hearing parrot-like repetitive statements from policy framers of this country that a political solution within the framework of a unified nation is alone the only panacea available to resolve the conflict between the freedom fighters of Tamil Ealam and the oppressive Sinhalese regime of Sri Lanka. We must go back in our memory lane to find out what happened to:

1. The Bandaranaike- Chelvanayam Pact of 1957

2. Dudley Senanaike-S.V.J.Chelvanayagam Pact in 1965

3. The Indo-Lanka Accord

4. 13th Amendment to Lankan Constitution in 1987

5. The Democratic People's Alliance proposals of 1988

6. The interim report of Mangala Moonesinghe Parliamentary Select Committee 1992

7. The Gamini Dissanayake proposals contained in the UNP manifesto1994.

8. Draft provisions of the Constitution containing the proposals of the Government of Sri lanka relating to devolution of power by Chandrika.

23 initiatives between 1957 and now had failed to yield any result. Yet Indian bureaucracy is trying to mislead this government also that " political solution" is possible what new proposal India has which has not been said in of these 23 proposals and which India thinks can resolve the crisis within the framework of a unitary state. India that cannot resolve Kashmir issue or for that matter the question of sub-nationalism in India is now gearing itself to commit another faux pas in its foreign policy. Dravida Peravai urges the Union government to be clear in its goals, sure of its approach and have a clear-cut solution in mind before taking the plunge.

The 1978 constitution adopted by the UNP government (1977-1989) once for all had closed all options towards federalism. Article 2 of that Constitution declares the Republic of Sri Lanka as a UNITARY STATE. Article 76 declares that Parliament shall not abdicate in any manner alienate its legislative power and shall not set up any authority with legislative power. THESE TWO ARTICLES PROHIBITS POLITICAL DEVOLUTION. Yet Indian government influenced by quixotic arguments of bureaucrats hopes it can mediate and resolve the crisis. A clever ploy by the Pro-Sinhalese media warns that secessionism will rear its head in Tamil Nadu. None thought that Indian Muslims, who are more in number compared to Tamils, will demand a homeland here, if Palestinian cause is supported by India. The kind of genocide witnessed in Ealam is unheard of in Indian soil and condition is not conducive here for any movement to gain much foothold.

The right of self-determination must be respected and if India intends to intervene it should seek United Nations help to hold a plebiscite in Ealam and accept the verdict of the people. India cannot and should not impose the prescriptions offered by its bureaucracy.

Many policy makers live in a world of make belief. They think 1983 is watershed in the history of Sri Lanka. IT IS NOT SO. IT IS TRUE THAT SINHALESE STARTED TARGETING TAMILS FROM 1983. BUT SINHALESE WERE FOR ETHNIC CLEANSING DATING BACK TO A CENTURY. Kumari Jayawardene in her book on Ethnic and class clashes in Sri lanka wrote: The first riots in recent history of Sri lanka occurred in 1883 at Kotana adjacent to Colombo between Sinhalese Buddhists and Catholics.' So religious intolerance is one hallmark of Sinhalese policy.

While plantation labour went from India in search of jobs, Anagarika Dharmapala was furious over British for importing untouchables to Sri Lanka. This stands testimony to the anti-dalit mentality of the Sinhalese chauvinists.

The next to be targeted were small traders from Bombay and South India. Buddhist religious leader Anagarika Dharmapala spitted venom in his speeches against North and South Indian traders. The culmination of this hate campaign resulted in wherein numerous lost their lives in 1915.In 1930 Sinhalese chauvinists next ignited their campaign of hate against the 30000 settlers from Kerala. A.E.Gunesingha, a trade unionist groomed by none other than Communist leader A.K.Gopalan launched vituperative attacks through his mouthpiece "Veeraiyya"

So, much before British offered universal suffrage in 1920, the Sinhalese were keen to get rid of Indian plantation Tamils. The problem of plantation which Srimavo-Sastri pact tried to aggravate by terming them as a separate country less people IS A HIMALAYAM BLUNDER committed by our external affairs policy makers.

Then came the EALAM TAMILS ETHNIC ISSUE, which has any solution all these years. The American Jews had the liberty to help for the formation of Israel like a bolt from the blue. Including India everyone supported the Palestinian cause. Such cross border support based on humanitarian reasons cannot be extended by TAMILS to FELLOW TAMILS ACROSS THE PALK STRAITS.

Indira Gandhi can barter away our tiny island KATCHATHEEVU depriving Tamil fishermen their centuries old fishing rights by agreements signed during emergency. Yet we cannot seek its revocation in the light of continued killings of our fishermen in mid seas. We fail to understand the mindset of the policy makers at the Capital. THEY FAIL TO UNDERSTAND ETHNIC CLEANSING IS A BARBARIAN CONCEPT IMBEDDED DEEP IN THE PSYCHE OF THE SINHALESE CHAUVINISTS.

DRAVIDA PERAVAI is bringing out a white paper on the abortive peace talks pacts, proposals since 1957, which will be released on 14th May. Meanwhile we urge Union Government not to take any interventionist decision even on so called humanitarian grounds. WE FEEL INDIA, NORWAY AND UNITED NATIONS CAN ENSURE CEASEFIRE AND HOLD A PLEBISCITE TO ENABLE TAMILS TO DECIDE THEIR DESTINY AS PER HIGHEST DEMOCRATIC TRADITIONS.

N.NANDHIVARMAN General Secretary DRAVIDA PERAVAI

http://www.tamilcanadian.com/page.php?cat=46&id=291

STONE INSCRIPTIONS SPEAK

N.Nandhivarman

Monuments, Inscriptions and copper plates speak. They reveal the past. Epigraphists unearth history hidden in these. There are around 535 stone inscriptions found out till date which includes Sanskrit (4), Kannada (2), Latin (1), French (2), Armenian (1) and most of the ones in Tamil. Late Pulavar Kuppusamy and Villianur Venkatesan did the compiling of these epigraphs. Professor Vijayavenugopal Senior Research Fellow of the Epigraphy Section of Ecole Francaise D' Extreme-Orient of Pondicherry had translated these and a new book is on the anvil.

For more than 1000 years of our history could be traced in these stone inscriptions. The rule of Rastrakooda king Kannaradevan comes to light through 16 inscriptions. Similarly sixteen Chozha Emporers have ruled Pondicherry region, which is recorded in 220 inscriptions. Eight Pandyan kings (18), Two later Pallavas (13), Thirteen Vijayanagara Kings (27) and under Sambuvaraiyer (3) are the break up of the total 535 stone inscriptions found in and around Pondicherry.

Almost all major villages of Pondicherry and Karaikal regions have these inscriptions namely Thirubuvanai (188), Madagadipattu (83), Thirunallaru (51), Villianur (50), Thiruvandarkoil (42), Bahour (45), Pondicherry (30). In Karaikal region at Karaikal (10), Thirumalairayanpattinam (6), Nallambal (7), Mathur (1), Nedungadu (1), Sethur (3), Sorakudi (1), Melponsethi (1) Pandasozhanur (7), Thirukanji (3), Kariamaniccam (2), Keezhkasakudi (2), Melkasakudi (1) and Dharmapuram (1).

Coming to recent past a monument of a brave soldier reminds us about the year 1778 when Pondicherry was under siege by the British. The brave sons of Pondicherry with only 1000 soldiers defended their soil fiercely against the 24,000 attackers. An isolated commemorative stele of a brave Englishman Captain Aug de Morgan killed by the French artillery on 11 th October 1778 stands on a barren terrain near Jipmer Hospital. This monument reminds us of not only the bravery of Pondicherrians but also their nobility to pay due respects even to the enemy warrior.

Another Tomb of Pauline de Kerjean nephew of Dupliex, a little girl who served in the Deccan wars epitomizes brave French womanhood." The skulls, bats and tibia are symbols more sinister than comforting flames that represent the eternal soul," writes M.Bourdat, Professor of Literature in Lycee Francaise.

The Annual Reports of Indian Epigraphy 1887-1905 is the first of its kind in Indian subcontinent on listing out the various stone inscriptions. J.Burges, the Director General of Archaeological Survey of India and E.Holtzsch, the Epigraphist of the Archaeological Survey of South India are the pioneers who laid down the foundation for epigraphic studies. In French India at the same time French scholars have unearthed many stone inscriptions. Jouveau Dubaille found a stone monument in the garden in front of present day Raj Niwas which speaks about the fortifications on the shore together with" Port Marine" built by Joseph Françoise Dupliex, the Governor of Pondicherry.

While these speak about recent history stone inscriptions are useful to know how this area was ruled. Though 535 epigraphs speak about various rulers at most of the period Pondicherry was part and parcel of Nadu Nadu, which means middle country. There are historical reasons for this region to be called as Nadu Nadu. The Pallava rule did not extend up to Pennaiyaaru and Chozha rule was up to Vellaru. In between these around 10 small states were there such as Vanagoppadi, Singapuranaadu, Oymanaadu, Vesalipadi nadu etc. These areas ruled by small states were called Nadunadu. The Saivite book of hymns Thevaram calls the pilgrimage centers in this region as Nadu Naattu thirupathigal.

From these inscriptions we understand how the territory was divided into Mandalam, Kottam, Kootram similar to District, Taluk and Panchayat. The subdivisions for purpose of revenue have been divided into 28 valanaadugal. Athiraja valanaadu was named after Rajathirajan I. This comes to public notice while epigraphists found this inscription at Tirunallar which belonged to the regime of Rajendra II.

The book by the Ecole Francaise D'Extreme Orient had generated lot of interest among public, as they were hoping that this book will throw more light on how this region was ruled and what were the social customs prevailing during that period etc. For instance in one inscription dating back to 1000 years in Bahur the word untouchable (Theendathagar) is used, wherein the tank desalting work was forbidden to untouchables since that water reaches the deity. That may be the first instance of that word being used, scholars opine.

Anyhow stones reflect the societal practices of those days be it good or bad. A true historical perspective emerges, and Pondicherrians come to understand their region more with scholars throwing more light.

TOPONYMICAL PROBE TRACING ONENESS OF HUMANITY

Pondicherry is a melting pot of various linguistic groups and cultures. Therefore it is no surprise that lot of people from Orissa have found a haven in Pondicherry. Trailing them to study for his research papers R.Balakrishnan I.A.S, Chief Electoral Officer of Government of Orissa often visits Pondicherry. There is another dimension to his visits, which is to pay respects to his teacher Dr.Vijayavenugopal of Ecole Francaise D'Extreme Orient. Mr.Balakrishnan had presented numerous research papers and he specializes in toponymical probe.

"Place names are fossilized representations of the past. In retracing the footprints of our ancestral migrations, place names can be our guiding stars. Our case in this regard is built on the foundation that the migrating people do carry their place names and reuse them in new found homeland as a mark of continuity with past." says R.Balakrishnan explaining the rationale of the toponymical probe he had ventured into.

In an article that appeared in the International Journal of Dravidian Linguistics, R.Balakrishnan throws "New lights on ancient contacts between Kalinga and Indonesia". A study conducted by him revealed remarkable similarities between the place names of Java, Sumatra and Bali regions of Indonesia on one hand and the places of Southern Orissa on the other hand. The Chilka region of Orissa seems to have been the focal point of Kalingan interactions with South East Asia.

Balakrishnan is serious in his research and had done extensive travel to remote regions to draw similarities of place names. In another research paper titled Tamil: A Toponymical Probe he had given a long list of place names that bear the "Tam" prefixes. In a state wise alphabetical list of Tam prefixed place names in India, he states that in Andhra Pradesh [29], Arunachal Pradesh [11], Assam [38], Bihar [53], Gujarat [5), Goa [1], Haryana [3], Himachal Pradesh [34], Karnataka [24], Maharastra [120], Meghalaya [5], Manipur [14], Madya Pradesh [60], Nagaland [4], Orissa [84], Punjab [4], Rajasthan [26], Tamil Nadu [10], Uttar Praseh [64], West Bengal [24] with a grand total of 612 places names resembling Tamil and Tamil influences do occur.

The spread of Tamil conquests and migration

This research may sound funny, but researches are always working out new avenues to trace truths of the past. One of the pioneers of rice research in India Mr.Ramiah had identified Jeypore region of Orissa as another independent center of origin of rice. Subsequent researches established that broad geographical region comprising Jharkand; Chattisgarh, Western Orissa and Jeypore tracts of Orissa satisfy the basic requirements to claim as center of origin of cultivated rice. If one can trace roots of rice cultivation why not trace roots of a civilization and its spread, asks Dr.Arivunambi, Dean of Tamil Studies in Pondicherry University.

"In the Godda District of Bihar there is a village named Tamilgoda. In that District alone there are 12 place names, which end goda Tamilgoda is one of them. In the Puri District of Orissa a place name called Tamilikudi draws our immediate attention. There is no need to establish the Dravidian etymology of the suffix kudi. Tamilikudi is not an isolate case of occurrence as there are 37 place names with kudi suffix within the administrative boundary of Orissa.

"In the process of locating Tamil related place names the entire list of India was scrutinized and I found a name called Tamia in Chindwara District of Madya Pradesh. Having come across Tamilgoda and Tamilkudi is not surprising to me. However when this name was noticed in the surprising company of such typical Tamil place names Palani, Tekadi, Theni, Bodi and many other geographical names that are in currency in the Madurai region of Tamilnadu and its adjoining upcountry neighbor Idukki, its significance and implications could be understood," says Balakrishnan.

Another research paper titled "Toponymy of Konark", by Balakrishnan traces the spread of the word Kona. The place name of Konark is a combination of two words kona and arka. A search for Kona as a place name prefix reveals as many as 249 occurrences. Out of this Kona, a mono word place name has been used at least in 13 places [4 in Andhra Pradesh, 3 in Uttar Pradesh, 2 in Madya Pradesh one each in Orissa, Bihar, Haryana and Maharastra]. Kon seems to be a universal term. 'The primitive tribes of Austro-Asiatic and Dravidian origin use the term as much as the speakers of Indo-Aryan do. Even the English terms such as cone, conical based on Latin conus (derived from Greek konus) show definite affinity with the term.

Depending on the context, Vedic people used a number of terms to denote angle and most common of them is Karna. The term Karna means Sun, the son of Kunti by Surya and hence the sun nexus of the term would be obvious. Karna denoting ray or beam of light is considered to be the basis for the Greek term Karneios that means radiant. This establishes the nexus between the angle and ray. The Peruvian prefix Kon means Sun and the mythical Sun king who claimed direct descent from Sun is called Kon-Tiki. So goes on Balakrishnan identifying in Iran on the Gulf of Oman just 3 km away from main coastline a village called Konark. About 5 kms away from Persian Gulf he traces another village Konark. Again in the plateau of Iran he finds Konark. The toponymical probe is a new way to establish oneness of the human race. Deveneya Paavanar and his successor R.Madhivanan have used etymological probes to prove that all languages emanated from one common language. As all continents were once united in Pangea that in Latin means All Earth, the distribution of place names across continents in another way proves continental drift and the migration of human race from one place to another.

DRAVIDA PERAVAI ON STATELESS PLANTATION TAMILS

N.Nandhivarman

Between 1871-1881 when coffee, tea plantations came up in large numbers in Ceylon, lots of Tamils from India went there seeking work. They constituted nearly 10 % of the then population of Ceylon. Donoughmore Commission constituted before independence said out of these roughly 50 percent labour were permanently residing in Ceylon. Jackson Report of 1928 said they were around 60 percent. The Soulbury Commission of 1946 stated 80 percent of these labour were permanent residents of Ceylon.

Donoughmore Commission had recommended that for all those who had lived for 5 years and above citizenship rights must be conferred. Ceylonese Government did not accept that recommendation, thus the crisis started. In 1940 both India and Ceylon discussed this issue. Again in 1941 September there was a bi party conference between India and Ceylon. The agreed joint declaration which emanated in this meeting was not implemented. The irony is in 1942 Ceylonese Government itself written to Indian Government requesting India to permit labour to come and work in its rubber plantations. In the first General Elections of 1947 plantation labour had voting rights. They backed the Ceylon Indian Congress and elected 7 members to Parliament. They were the deciding factor in another 20 parliamentary constituencies. D.S.Senanayaka, first Prime Minister of Ceylon amended the 8 th article of the Citizenship Act and disenfranchised plantation Tamils called as Malayaga Tamils. He passed in Parliament the amendment by 1949 and removed people of Indian origin from the voters list. That is how the voting rights of plantation Tamils who chose 7 Members to Parliament were deprived from them. Then Indian origin people were asked to apply for citizenship. 8, 25,000 people applied for citizenship. Only to 1, 00,000 people Ceylonese citizenship was granted. To resolve this deadlock at London both Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Ceylon Prime Minister Dudley Senanaiyaka talked but could not resolve. In 1954 a pact was signed between Jawaharlal Nehru and Sir John Kotewala, Ceylon Premier. It was never implemented. By 1964, Srilankan Prime Minster Srimavo Bandaranaike and Indian Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri signed a pact, wherein Srilanka agreed to give citizenship to 3, 00,000 persons. India admitted to take back 5, 25,000 persons.

“All American people were once migrants from Europe. Yet no European country foolishly signed a pact with America to take back its citizens. Even after signing such a pact India had left more than 2, 00.000 people of Indian origin in Srilanka. India considers the whole Srilankan problem as one between its original inhabitant Tamils of Ealam and Sinhalese. Dravidian parties have totally forgotten about our people i.e. stateless Tamils of Indian origin. To resolve the hardships caused to these stateless Tamils it is imperative India too to participate in the peace talks. India cannot keep away from any issue of South East Asia. India has left 2, 00,000 of its citizens in Srilanka, when such being the cases how can it keep away? Is it not the duty of India to take responsibility for every Indian citizen on alien soil?” asked N.Nandhivarman General Secretary Dravida Peravai in a press meet on the eve of his departure to Vijayawada to attend the National executive of Samata Party as a Special invitee. Dravida Peravai had been the associate party of samata party headed by George Fernandes.

Courtesy: Daily Thanthi15.06.2002 & New Times Observer 10.06.2002

Columnist Rajiv Dhavan wrote an article in The Hindu titled

INDIA’s REFUGEE LAW AND POLICY [Extracts]

With its open borders South Asia like Africa is a refugee prone region. India discovered this when absorbing the Tibetan refugees in 1959, the Bangladesh refugees in 1971, the Chakma influx in 1963, the Tamil influx from Srilanka in 1983, 1989 and again in 1995, the Afghan refugees from 1980s, the Myanmar's refugees for a similar period and migration and refugee movements from Bangladesh over the years…….. In 1995 India following the Pakistan’s example joined the Executive of the UNHCR. Though welcome, this half way attempt seems odd since India refuses to sign 1951 convention. Meanwhile a series of judgments by The Supreme Court and the Gujarat, Punjab, Gauhati and Tamil Nadu High Courts has reinforced the need for humane due process for the Chakmas, Srilankan and other refugees. Some of the judgments expressly recognize the value and worth of UNHCR and invite it to involve more in the refugee questions in India.

This thought provoking article prompted Dravida Peravai to come out with its views.

DRAVIDA PERAVAI QUESTIONED THE WISDOM OF INDIA NOT SIGNING THE 1951 CONVENTION. DRAVIDA PERAVAI URGED THE 40 MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT FROM TAMIL NADU & PONDICHERRY TO COMPARE HOW TIBETAN REFUGEES AND SRILANKA TAMILS ARE TREATED?

“While Tibetan refugees live peacefully with properties and are moving freely in Coorg areas of Karnataka, why Tamil refugees alone are handled like cattle confined to camps? Let our M.P’s ponder”.

var ie = “Microsoft Internet Explorer”; var nn = “Netscape”; var browser = navigator.appName; var nnfam = navigator.family; if(browser == nn) { if (navigator.appVersion.substring(0,1)<="4") { document.write(' ‘); } else { document.write(’ ‘); } } else { document.write(’ ‘); }  /* Optional: Temporarily hide the “tabber” class so it does not “flash” on the page as plain HTML. After tabber runs, the class is changed to “tabberlive” and it will appear. */document.write(’
/* Copyright (c) 2006 Patrick Fitzgerald */function tabberObj(argsObj){var arg;this.div=null;this.classMain=”tabber”;this.classMainLive=”tabberlive”;this.classTab=”tabbertab”;this.classTabDefault=”tabbertabdefault”;this.classNav=”tabbernav”;this.classTabHide=”tabbertabhide”;this.classNavActive=”tabberactive”;this.titleElements=['h2','h3','h4','h5','h6','font'];this.titleElementsStripHTML=true;this.removeTitle=true;this.addLinkId=false;this.linkIdFormat=’nav‘;for(arg in argsObj){this[arg]=argsObj[arg];}this.REclassMain=new RegExp(’\\b’+this.classMain+’\\b’,'gi’);this.REclassMainLive=new RegExp(’\\b’+this.classMainLive+’\\b’,'gi’);this.REclassTab=new RegExp(’\\b’+this.classTab+’\\b’,'gi’);this.REclassTabDefault=new RegExp(’\\b’+this.classTabDefault+’\\b’,'gi’);this.REclassTabHide=new RegExp(’\\b’+this.classTabHide+’\\b’,'gi’);this.tabs=new Array();if(this.div){this.init(this.div);this.div=null;}}tabberObj.prototype.init=function(e){varchildNodes,i,i2,t,defaultTab=0,DOM_ul,DOM_li,DOM_a,aId,headingElement;if(!document.getElementsByTagName){return false;}if(e.id){this.id=e.id;}this.tabs.length=0;childNodes=e.childNodes;for(i=0;i]+>/g,”");}break;}}}if(!t.headingText){t.headingText=i+1;}DOM_li=document.createElement(”li”);t.li=DOM_li;DOM_a=document.createElement(”a”);DOM_a.appendChild(document.createTextNode(t.headingText));DOM_a.href=”javascript:void(null);”;DOM_a.title=t.headingText;DOM_a.onclick=this.navClick;if(i==0){if(navigator.appName==”Netscape”){DOM_a.setAttribute(’style’, ‘margin-left:0px;’);}else if(navigator.appName==”Microsoft Internet Explorer”){_setStyle(DOM_a,’margin-left:0px;’);}};DOM_a.tabber=this;DOM_a.tabberIndex=i;if(this.addLinkId&&this.linkIdFormat){aId=this.linkIdFormat;aId=aId.replace(//gi,this.id);aId=aId.replace(//gi,i);aId=aId.replace(//gi,i+1);aId=aId.replace(//gi,t.headingText.replace(/[^a-zA-Z0-9\-]/gi,”));DOM_a.id=aId;}DOM_li.appendChild(DOM_a);DOM_ul.appendChild(DOM_li);}e.insertBefore(DOM_ul,e.firstChild);e.className=e.className.replace(this.REclassMain,this.classMainLive);this.tabShow(defaultTab);if(typeof this.onLoad==’function’){this.onLoad({tabber:this});}return this;};tabberObj.prototype.navClick=function(event){varrVal,a,self,tabberIndex,onClickArgs;a=this;if(!a.tabber){return false;}self=a.tabber;tabberIndex=a.tabberIndex;a.blur();if(typeof self.onClick==’function’){onClickArgs={’tabber’:self,’index’:tabberIndex,’event’:event};if(!event){onClickArgs.event=window.event;}rVal=self.onClick(onClickArgs);if(rVal===false){return false;}}self.tabShow(tabberIndex);return false;};tabberObj.prototype.tabHideAll=function(){var i;for(i=0;i GB_ROOT_DIR = “/jscripts/greybox/”; function show_add(){ // Get the cookie for this domain x = document.cookie; // match the cookie for the name ‘no_add’ results = x.match( ‘(^|;) ?’ + ‘no_add’ + ‘=([^;]*)(;|$)’ ); // if the cookie we found doesn’t have ‘no_add’ as name // then it means either the cookie expired or the user is // visiting the home page for the first time. // Hence show the splash screen. if (!results) { GB_showCenter(”,’/support/smallwindow.htm’,310, 582); cookie_string = “no_add=” + escape(”true”) var today = new Date(); today.setTime( today.getTime() ); // For the next 5 hours if the user hits the home page // don’t show the ADD. This cookie expires in 5 hours from // now. expires should be in milliseconds. // so, 1000 * seconds * minuites * hours // Right now this cookie expires every month. expires = 1000 * 60 * 60 * 720 ; var expires_date = new Date( today.getTime() + (expires) ); cookie_string += “; expires= ” + expires_date; cookie_string += “; path= /”; document.cookie = cookie_string setTimeout(”GB_hide()”, 8000); } } window.onload = function() { show_add(); }

HOME OP-ED INTERACT SUPPORT SEARCH Your financial support matters.

INDIA var ie = “Microsoft Internet Explorer”; var nn = “Netscape”; var browser = navigator.appName; var nnfam = navigator.family; if(browser == nn) { if (navigator.appVersion.substring(0,1)<="4") { document.write(' ‘); } else { document.write(’ ‘); } } else { document.write(’ ‘); } /* Optional: Temporarily hide the “tabber” class so it does not “flash” on the page as plain HTML. After tabber runs, the class is changed to “tabberlive” and it will appear. */document.write(’ /* Copyright (c) 2006 Patrick Fitzgerald */function tabberObj(argsObj){var arg;this.div=null;this.classMain=”tabber”;this.classMainLive=”tabberlive”;this.classTab=”tabbertab”;this.classTabDefault=”tabbertabdefault”;this.classNav=”tabbernav”;this.classTabHide=”tabbertabhide”;this.classNavActive=”tabberactive”;this.titleElements=['h2','h3','h4','h5','h6','font'];this.titleElementsStripHTML=true;this.removeTitle=true;this.addLinkId=false;this.linkIdFormat=’nav‘;for(arg in argsObj){this[arg]=argsObj[arg];}this.REclassMain=new RegExp(’\\b’+this.classMain+’\\b’,'gi’);this.REclassMainLive=new RegExp(’\\b’+this.classMainLive+’\\b’,'gi’);this.REclassTab=new RegExp(’\\b’+this.classTab+’\\b’,'gi’);this.REclassTabDefault=new RegExp(’\\b’+this.classTabDefault+’\\b’,'gi’);this.REclassTabHide=new RegExp(’\\b’+this.classTabHide+’\\b’,'gi’);this.tabs=new Array();if(this.div){this.init(this.div);this.div=null;}}tabberObj.prototype.init=function(e){varchildNodes,i,i2,t,defaultTab=0,DOM_ul,DOM_li,DOM_a,aId,headingElement;if(!document.getElementsByTagName){return false;}if(e.id){this.id=e.id;}this.tabs.length=0;childNodes=e.childNodes;for(i=0;i/gi,”");t.headingText=t.headingText.replace(/<[^>]+>/g,”");}break;}}}if(!t.headingText){t.headingText=i+1;}DOM_li=document.createElement(”li”);t.li=DOM_li;DOM_a=document.createElement(”a”);DOM_a.appendChild(document.createTextNode(t.headingText));DOM_a.href=”javascript:void(null);”;DOM_a.title=t.headingText;DOM_a.onclick=this.navClick;if(i==0){if(navigator.appName==”Netscape”){DOM_a.setAttribute(’style’, ‘margin-left:0px;’);}else if(navigator.appName==”Microsoft Internet Explorer”){_setStyle(DOM_a,’margin-left:0px;’);}};DOM_a.tabber=this;DOM_a.tabberIndex=i;if(this.addLinkId&&this.linkIdFormat){aId=this.linkIdFormat;aId=aId.replace(//gi,this.id);aId=aId.replace(//gi,i);aId=aId.replace(//gi,i+1);aId=aId.replace(//gi,t.headingText.replace(/[^a-zA-Z0-9\-]/gi,”));DOM_a.id=aId;}DOM_li.appendChild(DOM_a);DOM_ul.appendChild(DOM_li);}e.insertBefore(DOM_ul,e.firstChild);e.className=e.className.replace(this.REclassMain,this.classMainLive);this.tabShow(defaultTab);if(typeof this.onLoad==’function’){this.onLoad({tabber:this});}return this;};tabberObj.prototype.navClick=function(event){varrVal,a,self,tabberIndex,onClickArgs;a=this;if(!a.tabber){return false;}self=a.tabber;tabberIndex=a.tabberIndex;a.blur();if(typeof self.onClick==’function’){onClickArgs={’tabber’:self,’index’:tabberIndex,’event’:event};if(!event){onClickArgs.event=window.event;}rVal=self.onClick(onClickArgs);if(rVal===false){return false;}}self.tabShow(tabberIndex);return false;};tabberObj.prototype.tabHideAll=function(){var i;for(i=0;i ENVIRONMENT   · Biodiversity   · Climate   · Education   · Energy   · Fisheries   · Forests   · Hazards   · Mining   · Opinions   · Profiles   · Regulation   · Reviews   · Urban   · Waste   · Water   · Wildlife RSS Feeds SERVICES   · Advertise   · Contact Us  •  Write the author  •  Water  •  Kerala  •  Spread the word  •  Printer friendly version Rain or no rain, water for Coke The Permumatty grama panchayat of Kerala’s Plachimada village has appealed to the Supreme Court for revocation of a recent High Court order granting permission to Coca Cola to draw water upto 5 lakh litres per day. The High Court’s ruling was based on an investigation that has raised more questions than answered. P N Venugopal and M Suchitra report. 10 May 2005 - The Supreme Court has issued notices to Hindustan Coca Cola, the Kerala Government and Kerala State Pollution Control Board on a special leave petition filed by Perumatty grama panchayat of Plachimada. The panchayat has appealed a ruling of the Kerala High Court ordering it to renew the license for Coca Cola at Plachimada village. Ruling on April 7, the Division Bench of the Kerala High Court, quashed an earlier order of a single judge bench and permitted the Coca Cola factory located in Plachimada village to draw water up to five lakh litres per day, subject to the monsoon being normal. Justices M Ramachandran and K P Balachandran passed the orders. Plachimada is an impoverished village largely populated by tribals, dependant almost totally on rainfall for domestic and irrigation needs. (One lakh = 100,000) The Coca Cola factory was set up with much fanfare and it was originally welcomed as it provided some employment and the Panchayat an income by way of taxes. But ground water shortage hit the region in 2002 and tribals spearheaded the agitation against the factory with the backing of almost all political parties and the active support of many NGOs and social organizations. Responding to popular will, the Perumatty Panchayat refused to renew the water license of the company. Coca Cola had appealed to the High Court against the decision of the Panchayat, but on 12 December 2003, a single judge bench of the court had upheld the decision of the Panchayat. The court said that the Panchayat and the government are bound to protect groundwater from excessive exploitation. The agitation in the meantime gained worldwide attention. 22 April, 2005 was the third anniversary of the Plachimada agitation. The investigation team Dr EJ James, Convener, Executive Director, CWRDM. G.Gopalakrishna Pillai, Hydrogeologist, state’s Groundwater Department. V C Jacob (Retd Director, CGWB), Representative of Hindustan Coca Cola Beverages. R V Satheesan Thampuran, Sr Environmental Engineer, KSPCB. Dr S P Rajagopalan, Head, CAD, CWRDM. Dr M Nazimuddin, Head, GWD, CWRDM. Dr NB Narasimha Prasad, CWRDM. V P Dinesan, Scientist, CWRDM. P K Abdulla, CWRDM. Dr C U K Warrier, CWRDM. P Manjula, CWRDM. For arriving at its recent decision to overturn the earlier ruling, the Division Bench had relied heavily up on an enquiry report submitted by an investigation team. The team’s objective was to scientifically find out the real state of water availability at Plachimada and whether the extraction of water by the Cola company caused water shortage/scarcity in the vicinity as alleged by the local people, the Panchayat, NGOs and other organizations. The team consisted of experts and was constituted at the behest of the High Court during the earlier hearing of the case. The Executive Director of Centre for Water Resources Development and Management (CWRDM) was the Chairman of the investigation team. A representative each from the Kerala State Groundwater Department, the State Pollution Control Board and Hindustan Cocoa Cola Beverages were to be the members. This committee was also authorized to nominate seven others to the team from the CWRDM. The investigation team was given a year’s time to study and submit a report. Significantly, all the expenses of the study and the team were to be met by the Coca Cola company. Neither a Panchayat official nor members of other organizations had any representative in the investigation team. The team submitted its report in March this year concluding that there was adequate scope for Coca Cola with withdraw groundwater from the area at 5 lakh litres per day. The findings and their basis The Cola factory is situated in Plachimada, which is in Chittur Block. The investigation team reached the conclusion that this block has a water availability of 66.7 MCM (Million Cubic Meter) per annum and will remain so without variation till 2025. Out of this, the committee allocated 62.5 MCM for domestic and irrigation sectors. The report said: “this leaves an annual balance of about 4.2 MCM of groundwater resources for meeting other uses of water of which the requirement by Cocoa Cola factory forms only part. As the ground water recharge is more or less evenly distributed over the whole Chittur Block, the balance of 4.2 MCM cannot be withdrawn from one single location, but has to be well distributed over the full area. As a first approximation, it is probably realistic to limit the withdrawal from a single location in the Block to about 5% of the balance amount of 4.2 MCM, or in other words, 0.21 MCM at each such location. The annual gross groundwater draft required by the Cocoa-Cola factory at 5 lakh litres per day is 0.1825MCM, which is safely lower than 0.21 MCM. It can be therefore, concluded that there is adequate scope for the Coca Cola factory to withdraw groundwater at the rate of 5 lakh litres per day.” The report then goes from the Chittur Block to Plachimada proper. According to the report, the estimated annual available groundwater in the Plachimada watershed is 3.67 MCM. The requirement for domestic use and irrigation is put at 3.42 MCM leaving a balance of 0.25 MCM for other uses. The requirement of the Cola factory is only 0.1825 MCM and so they can safely draw the quantity without affecting the community around the factory, concludes the investigation team. There are several anomalies in this conclusion. 1. Incomplete estimation of water usage/demand The statistics relied on by the investigation team is of 2001. So it safely overlooks the urbanization, the filling up of paddy fields for construction of houses, and the drastic reduction in rainfall in the interim three years that would certainly have affected the recharge of groundwater. The number of new households that have additionally come in and the consequent increase in use of water for domestic needs has been ignored. Another glaring omission is the water required by cattle. According to a survey conducted by the Economics and Statistics Department in 2001, the Chittur Block had 67144 heads of cattle. Even at a lower average of 80 litres per animal per day (vetinary doctors at the government’s livestock department provided estimates), there is a requirement of 5,371,520 litres every day which would work out to 1.95 MCM per annum. That would also reduce the available water for ‘other uses’ to a mere 2.25 MCM. The report says that it would be realistic to limit the withdrawal from a single location to 5% of the balance amount. What is scientific and realistic about the 5% was left unexplained by the team. They appear to have arbitrarily assumed that a given spot in a particular area will have 5% of the total available groundwater. It could very well have been 1% or 10% 0.5%. But going by the team’s own parameters, 5% of the remaining 2.25 MCM is only 0.1125 MCM. Where is the Cola factory going to get 0.1825 MCM from? So much for conveniently forgetting the thirst of the dumb animals. 2. Rainfall trends and the X factor Next, the investigation team fixed an ‘X’ factor. X is the deviation from the mean rainfall in any particular year and determines whether the factory can draw its full permitted quota of water, and if not, how much it could withdraw. The company can draw the full requirement of 5 lakh litres during the monsoon season, from June to December. However, the drawing from December to May will depend on the X factor. Explained in simple terms, if the rainfall is greater to or equal to the mean rain fall, then the factory can draw the full quota of 5 lakh litres during this period too. If the rain is less by zero to 10%, the drawing is limited to 4 lakhs, if it is less by 10 to 20%, then 3 lakhs, if the rainfall is less by 20 to 30 %, 2 lakh litres and if the rain is less by 30% or less, then the company cannot draw any water. On the face of it, this is quite scientific and fair. But the crux here is this: how the mean rainfall is determined is going to impact how much water Coca Cola will be permitted to withdraw. A lower mean rainfall value would mean that during a year when the rainfall is actually less, the deviation from the mean is going to be less, which in turn allows the factory to draw more water. But meterological records show that that the annual rainfall has shown a reducing trend in the last one decade and the trend is not very likely to be reversed in the immediate future. How did the investigation team proceed to estimate the mean? The Indian Meteorological Department has laid down the rule that the mean rain fall of a particular area is the average of the rainfall of the last 80 years. This is the option the team must have exercised. But the team calculated the mean by taking into consideration the figures for only the last 10 years, where the rainfall had already shown a reducing trend, thus ensuring that the mean remains really low. (The annexure to the team’s report contains the rainfall rates for the last 10 years. Regional rainfall records for the last hundred years are available with the Indian Meteorological Department.) The choice of 10 year mean is surprising even otherwise. The team seems to have estimated water availability without variation till 2025 which is 20 years from now. Using a 10 year mean for this calculation could itself be a point of principle objection. It only further strengthens the case that the team should have stuck with the IMD’s 80 year mean estimation. But there is more. Plachimada does not have a rain gauge station. There is one at 6 km south, at Chitturpuzha. Equidistant from Plachimada, there is another one at Meenkara, 6 km north. The mean rainfall at Chitturpuzha was 1413 mm and that at Meenkara was 1513 mm. The committee very innocently assumes the lower figure for Plachimada. The consequence of this decision is better explained by an example. The rainfall for the year 2003-04 for Chitturpuzha was 1021 mm. Let us assume that keeping in with the decreasing trend, the rainfall for the next year is 1020mm. If this is treated as the rainfall available at Plachimada, as per the X factor calculation, the company can draw 2 lakhs litres of water, because the variation is between 20 to 30%. At the same time, if the mean of equidistant Meenkara is was taken as reference, then 1020mm is 32.58% lower than 1513mm (Meenkara). Since the deviation exceeds 30%, the factory is not eligible for a drop of water. But by arbitrarily choosing the lesser mean, the factory is benefited. 3. Government procedures to estimate ground water levels The Ministry of Water Resources of the Government of India had a set up a committee in 2002 for arriving at a methodology for resources estimation in hard rock terrain. In the report submitted by the committee, two tests have been made mandatory for estimating ground water resource at any given location. They are the 1000-minutes long pumping test and the 400-minutes long ’step draw down test’. These two tests would have easily indicated the effect if any on the wells in the locality, when the Cola company is drawing water from its own wells. The Investigating Team never bothered to do these tests. But the team did study the water levels in selected wells while the company was drawing water. It observed that the water in five wells was polluted and that the water level in four wells had gone down steeply during the months when water was being drawn. It also observed that the water levels were restored once the Cola factory ceased to function (following a government order). Still, these facts do not find mention in the body of the team’s report and are scattered around in the annexure that contains statistics. The High Court had specifically asked the investigation team to find out if “shortage/scarcity” of water had been caused in the neighbourhood due to the extraction of water by the factory. In water management parlance, ’shortage/scarcity’ means two things: lack of adequate quantity of water, or, even if water is available, it cannot be used because of its bad quality. The report is silent on the quality aspect. 4. Nature of investigation For its research, the team collected available data from CWRDM, the State Groundwater Department and the Indian Meteorological Department and collated them. There was little additional field study. Members also ignored the fact that replenishment of groundwater is dependant on many other factors like the rock terrain formation of the area, the ‘evapo transpiration’ rate, the general atmospheric temperature of the area, the speed of wind, and the rate of urbanization, apart from rainfall. In sum, an indepth study of the report reveals that the investigation team appears to have had an altogether different agenda from that of what the High Court asked. That the Coca Cola company should be in a position to draw 5 lakh litres of water everyday seems to have been the objective of the experts. var ie = “Microsoft Internet Explorer”; var nn = “Netscape”; var browser = navigator.appName; var nnfam = navigator.family; if(browser == nn) { if (navigator.appVersion.substring(0,1)<="4") { document.write(' ‘); } else { document.write(’ ‘); } } else { document.write(’ ‘); } /* Optional: Temporarily hide the “tabber” class so it does not “flash” on the page as plain HTML. After tabber runs, the class is changed to “tabberlive” and it will appear. */document.write(’ /* Copyright (c) 2006 Patrick Fitzgerald */function tabberObj(argsObj){var arg;this.div=null;this.classMain=”tabber”;this.classMainLive=”tabberlive”;this.classTab=”tabbertab”;this.classTabDefault=”tabbertabdefault”;this.classNav=”tabbernav”;this.classTabHide=”tabbertabhide”;this.classNavActive=”tabberactive”;this.titleElements=['h2','h3','h4','h5','h6','font'];this.titleElementsStripHTML=true;this.removeTitle=true;this.addLinkId=false;this.linkIdFormat=’nav‘;for(arg in argsObj){this[arg]=argsObj[arg];}this.REclassMain=new RegExp(’\\b’+this.classMain+’\\b’,'gi’);this.REclassMainLive=new RegExp(’\\b’+this.classMainLive+’\\b’,'gi’);this.REclassTab=new RegExp(’\\b’+this.classTab+’\\b’,'gi’);this.REclassTabDefault=new RegExp(’\\b’+this.classTabDefault+’\\b’,'gi’);this.REclassTabHide=new RegExp(’\\b’+this.classTabHide+’\\b’,'gi’);this.tabs=new Array();if(this.div){this.init(this.div);this.div=null;}}tabberObj.prototype.init=function(e){varchildNodes,i,i2,t,defaultTab=0,DOM_ul,DOM_li,DOM_a,aId,headingElement;if(!document.getElementsByTagName){return false;}if(e.id){this.id=e.id;}this.tabs.length=0;childNodes=e.childNodes;for(i=0;i/gi,”");t.headingText=t.headingText.replace(/<[^>]+>/g,”");}break;}}}if(!t.headingText){t.headingText=i+1;}DOM_li=document.createElement(”li”);t.li=DOM_li;DOM_a=document.createElement(”a”);DOM_a.appendChild(document.createTextNode(t.headingText));DOM_a.href=”javascript:void(null);”;DOM_a.title=t.headingText;DOM_a.onclick=this.navClick;if(i==0){if(navigator.appName==”Netscape”){DOM_a.setAttribute(’style’, ‘margin-left:0px;’);}else if(navigator.appName==”Microsoft Internet Explorer”){_setStyle(DOM_a,’margin-left:0px;’);}};DOM_a.tabber=this;DOM_a.tabberIndex=i;if(this.addLinkId&&this.linkIdFormat){aId=this.linkIdFormat;aId=aId.replace(//gi,this.id);aId=aId.replace(//gi,i);aId=aId.replace(//gi,i+1);aId=aId.replace(//gi,t.headingText.replace(/[^a-zA-Z0-9\-]/gi,”));DOM_a.id=aId;}DOM_li.appendChild(DOM_a);DOM_ul.appendChild(DOM_li);}e.insertBefore(DOM_ul,e.firstChild);e.className=e.className.replace(this.REclassMain,this.classMainLive);this.tabShow(defaultTab);if(typeof this.onLoad==’function’){this.onLoad({tabber:this});}return this;};tabberObj.prototype.navClick=function(event){varrVal,a,self,tabberIndex,onClickArgs;a=this;if(!a.tabber){return false;}self=a.tabber;tabberIndex=a.tabberIndex;a.blur();if(typeof self.onClick==’function’){onClickArgs={’tabber’:self,’index’:tabberIndex,’event’:event};if(!event){onClickArgs.event=window.event;}rVal=self.onClick(onClickArgs);if(rVal===false){return false;}}self.tabShow(tabberIndex);return false;};tabberObj.prototype.tabHideAll=function(){var i;for(i=0;i continue reading article … Conflict of interest within The findings of the team were also based on its internal report ‘a brief report on the Geology of the area’. The geologist who represented the groundwater department is not a hydrogeologist by educational qualification. He has a degree in geology; hydrogeology is not in the syllabus at the graduation level. In any case, as a representative of the state’s groundwater department, he must have prepared this report for the investigation team, but he did not. The minutes of the Committee meetings reveal that it was V C Jacob, Retd. Director, Central Groundwater Board, Trivandrum, who prepared the geology report. Jacob was also the representative of the Coca Cola company in the Committee.  •  Coke case in decisive phase  •  Taken for a taxing ride  •  Kerala soft-pedals cola ban The High Court on the state government’s attitude The court also came down heavily on the attitude of the Kerala government. The affidavit on its behalf was signed and submitted by the junior most possible scientist-functionary in the State Groundwater Department, a ‘geological assistant’. “Evidently the attempt of the government was to escape from a possible pique of indiscretion that otherwise might have been suggested”, the court observes. “Perhaps it filed purely for the purpose of records; if not to appease the gallery”. But an impartial observer would only feel that the stand of the government is fully in keeping with its dubious record of deliberately losing cases in which it has been impleaded due to popular pressure. (In the Suryanelli rape case, all previously convicted by a trial court except one were acquitted by the High Court; in another case, the Supreme Court quashed the order of the state government banning other-state lotteries and on-line lotteries.) The court went further and remarked at the impropriety of a junior functionary being made to “swear an affidavit controverting the findings of the Expert Committee especially since his superior officer (Hydrogeologist, Groundwater Department) was one of the members of the committee”. Court’s observations on water and property Some observations of the High Court went into dimensions beyond Coca Cola and Plachimada. “We have to assume that a person has the right to extract water from his property, unless it is prohibited by a statute”. A consequence of this would be that a person owning just a square foot of land, just sufficient to sink a bore well can extract any amount of water as it has been mentioned elsewhere in the judgment that he is the owner of what is underneath the land. Second, the court says that as a ‘legal man’, the corporate has all the rights of a ‘natural man’, a conclusion, fraught with frightening implications. The most interesting observation from the High Court is regarding water itself. The judgment comments that water is not a treasure-trove. This at a time when the whole world is apprehensive about future “Wars for Water”! On to New Delhi Since the orders of the court, Coca Cola applied for renewal of license for resuming production. The Perumatty Panchayat rejected the application on the grounds that it has not produced the requisite license under the Factories Act and the clearance of the Pollution Control Board. The panchayat has since appealed to the Supreme Court for revocation of the High Court order. But apparently, the panchayat’s special leave petition raises none of the irregularities and inconsistencies in the investigation team’s report. It seems that “the rights of a grama panchayat to drinking water and for agricultural purposes in contrast to the right of a multinational company to extract water” has been made the main bone of contention. The ‘War for Water’ has now opened a new front at New Delhi. (Quest Features and Footage) ⊕ P N Venugopal & M Suchitra 10 May 2005 The authors are independent journalists associated with the Quest Features and Footage, Kochi, Kerala.  •  Write the author  •  Water  •  Environmental regulation  •  Environment  •  Kerala  •  Feedback: Tell us what you think of this page  •  View letters to the editors SUPPORT INDIA TOGETHER Cheque Card Bank Cheque In India India Together A-1205 Mantri Elegance N S Palya, Bannerghatta Rd Bangalore 560076 Outside India India Together PO Box 26254 San Diego CA 92196 USA Card Charge to your credit card using the secure e-payment gateway of Avenues India Pvt Ltd. from anywhere. Contribute now Bank HDFC Bank Account Number 01332000003849 Account name: Civil Society Information Exchange Account type: Current A/C J P Nagar Branch, Bangalore RTGS code: IFSC0000133   Public service message : Learn more   RECENTLY IN INDIA TOGETHER  - Furore over EU carbon tax plans  - Women join hands for a better media  - This monsoon, Assam takes on malaria  - CAG report slams Vidarbha waiver package  - Connecting to the Northeast  - Regulating domestic work  - Inaction on panel findings against beverage major  - Struggling for ST status  - What about the other entitlements?  - The beauty of compromise  - Compensatory afforestation a hoax in M.P.  - A hazardous smokescreen of words  - How not to protect the Gir lions  - Ski village plans hit the skids  - Neither law nor justice  - A two-in-one well  - Power to the rich, literally  - ‘We cultivate pearls, but our children go hungry’ © Civil Society Information Exchange Pvt. Ltd., all rights reserved. Home | About us | Overview | Support | Contact Us | Disclaimer   Add Comment » No Comments   Older Entries     2011  |  A Rediff.com India Ltd. Site  |  Theme : oriental