Some time back, the present J&K Chief Minister and son of Farooq Abdullah (I think this is the introduction), Omar Abdullah joined the micro-blogging site Twitter. I am not sure if he took blessings of Shashi Tharoor, the former UPA minister of state (I think this is not his introduction though) who lost his ministry due to his Tweets (his famous ‘holy cow’ address to the reigning dynasty of India). But Omar seems to have made a quick progress. He has now divorced (I am neither saying Twitter-wallas get divorced, nor that divorcing is any progress) and he is making use of Twitter. I don’t say whether he is using right use of it or wrong, because by the time you understand if it was right or wrong you are either sent packing or forgotten, but I am just saying that he is “using” Twitter. That may sound like a useless usage of use, but I hope you would conclude something only funny after following his adventures with the tweeting:  

“J&K CM Omar Abdullah and his wife Payal Nath have separated after 17 years of marriage. This was confirmed by the chief minister on Twitter on Thursday. 

Reacting to the report, Omar tweeted: “While it’s true my wife and I have separated, speculation about the motives and my future actions are unfounded, untrue, I appeal to the media to please allow me and my family privacy. Am sure you will appreciate that I have not let this affect my work.” 

“Stories about my remarriage are completely false, concocted. It’s a pity, while repeating these lies, no effort was made to ask me the truth,” Omar tweeted. 

He further added: “My family and I will not be issuing any more statements or taking any further questions about any of this.”” 

Source: TNN, Sep 15 [Link] 

There are many inherent issues here.  

First of all, he is speaking all this on such a public platform like Twitter and he is speaking all this on indeed a private matter (divorce). Yet he desires to be granted “privacy”. Even people with no interest in his family life would have got to know about his marital affair (not used in conventional sense) due to his own Tweets. Secondly he claims to have kept his work life unaffected by this separation. What kind of a husband would remain immune to such a tragic happening like a divorce with a wife of 17 years? Thirdly, while he is complaining that “no effort was made to ask me the truth”, he adds in the end that he and his family (excluding his now divorced ex-wife I guess) will not be making any more statements. Forget about making statements, they will not even be “taking any further questions about any of this”! Yet, his complaints persist that the media didn’t ask him “the truth”! Well, for any such matter people are not expected to tell the “truth” and would rather be making political statements. And on the top of that, people of India (of which his home-state J&K is a part of) have given up believing on politicians’ words (I hope he remembers that he is one politician) a long time ago! 

I don’t really think his statements and Tweets needed such a serious dissection. But blame Twitter, as even I hang out there some times.  

- Rahul

Last weekend, we went to a specialty restaurant near Jama Masjid in Delhi. The restaurant was very close to the Masjid and we could see people on its stairs. Then I noticed something. There were big posters fixed on the walls of the Masjid, which said, “Kahin Hum Bhool Na Jayen (Let us not Forget) – Babri Masjid Demolition”. I remembered the day – it was one day before 6th of December. Those who would have erected the posters, would be feeling great about it – may be they would have raised charity to get the posters printed. And what would the posters achieve? Some hatred and some trouble – for all.  

On that day, I wondered why not someone printed and erected posters and banners saying, “Kahin Hum Bhool Na Jayen (Let us not Forget) – Babar’s Ram Temple Demolition”. Since Babri Temple was constructed at the ruins of a Hindu Temple, it was an un-Islamic structure – as experts say. But those who want to spread hatred in the society – and claim to hold power among Indian Muslims - hardly care for “righteousness”. All they care about is their own sources of income. A lot would be coming from funds raised from Indian Muslims, and a lot more from across the border.  

Today’s newspaper tells there was a Blast near a Hindu Temple in the holy city of Varanasi. It was carried out by Indian Muzahiddin to avenge deconstruction of controversial Babri building. A young child has died and dozens are injured. I am not surprised. If our government supports the ‘hatred mongers’ in erecting those avenging posters and banners – a sample of which I saw near Jama Masjid – we would get only such hateful and disastrous incidents in return. When all power in India lies in the hands of a lady which has no accountability, and the man holding responsibility has no real power; our future remains at stake.

2G Scam is worth Rs 1700000000000. That is Rs 1.7 Lakh Crores. Who is responsible for it? Many. But the list would start with the telecom minister Mr. A. Raja. The irony is that he is still in his chair. Reason? His party supports one of the most honest men to retain his chair of PM. Do people of India win in the end - corrupt ministers costing it billions while honest Prime Minister sits on his chair? We know the answer.  

The BJP says that the PM is guilty of not taking a firm stand on 2G issue. The accusation is right.  

“Prime Minister is guilty of culpability of not taking a stand firmly and not acting beforehand before the damage was done. He is guilty of it and we are charging that,” BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar told reporters outside Parliament.  

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/PM-guilty-of-not-taking-a-firm-stand-on-2G-issue-BJP-/articleshow/6988182.cms#ixzz16ILh1BVL  

The Supreme Court asks the CBI why it didn’t questioned A Raja. It knows the answer but needs evidence.  

The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the CBI why the agency has not questioned former telecom minister A Raja and his secretary in connection with the 2G spectrum scam. “The CAG report is replete with remarks about direct involvement of A Raja in the irregularities,” observed the SC bench.  

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/2G-scam-Why-have-you-not-questioned-Raja-SC-asks-CBI/articleshow/6988539.cms#ixzz16ILsqn3u  

The scam has attained new heights when some Congress-friendly journalists have been found to have played a curious role. We suspected, and now we have proof.  

Two high-profile journalists, Barkha Dutt and Vir Sanghvi, whose names figure in the tapes, have also been internet and TV celebrities of sorts. But their images have taken a severe battering online since the Open and Outlook magazines published on their websites the tapes of their separate conversations with corporate lobbyist Niira Radia. In the tapes, the journalists are heard promising Radia help for her cause of getting A Raja the telecom portfolio again in the UPA 2 government by talking to their Congress contacts. 

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/2G-scam-sideshow-Netizens-lambast-high-profile-journalists/articleshow/6984715.cms#ixzz16IMAatz8  

The dimensions of 2G Scam may be many, but I am sure about two things. Our Prime Minister must have known something and didn’t act in time. He has to face the nation. Secondly, the nation is fed up of corruption and scandals involving our grand old national party - INC. It is high time the party should introspect. Sonia Gandhi should even consider the option of dissolving it – after all, she came to join INC to do something good for it and the nation, not to see the party become the most corrupt political party in this world.

The BJP-JDU alliance has won the Bihar assembly elections 2010 in a manner which would be remembered in the history. Together, the alliance has won 206 out of 243 seats.  

The JD(U) and the BJP won 115 and 91 seats as against 87 and 55 seats respectively in the October 2005 polls. The JD(U) had contested 141 seats and the BJP the remaining 102. The RJD-LJP alliance, led by Mr Lalu Prasad Yadav, won just 25 seats. The Congress, which contested all 243 constituencies and raised hopes for itself, won just four seats as opposed to the nine it had won in the 2005 polls. Ref: http://www.deccanchronicle.com/node/200324 

Chart Ref: http://news.oneindia.in/2010/11/25/nitish-ends-lalu-reign-in-bihar-assembly-polls.html 

There are many messages out of the results. But the most important in my opinion is that people care for all round development, irrespective of who is doing it. Nitish Kumar had done a wonderful job in the last 5 years and people of Bihar knew that and hence rewarded him. BJP had been a responsible partner and a national party, which anyway has a strong base in the state. It reflected in a 90% success factor for its candidates, which is seldom seen for any party in any state.  

I don’t agree with a section of media’s assertion that BJP performed so well because it compromised on Hindutva demands, e.g. it didn’t send Mr. Narendra Modi to campaign in Bihar. I believe that the same results or better would have come if Narendra Modi campaigned in Bihar – because this time people had a strong resolve to support the present government because of the development work it had done. Irrespective of religion, caste or any other dividing factor, everyone likes development and prosperity – and this message is nothing new for anyone. Just that this time it surprised the cynics.  

The results have also proven that Rahul Gandhi’s campaigns and his childish statements (e.g. against RSS in order to garner Muslim votes) would not stand anywhere, until the state government is doing its job properly.  

In a way, Bihar has shown a way for all parties and all governments. I don’t say that Nitish Kumar has pioneered it. It was proven by Narendra Modi in Gujarat – people from all sections voted for him because they saw in him a true leader for the interests of his state. Every time Narendra Modi asks for votes, he simply asks his reward for doing so much development. Nitish did the same thing, and won.  

We can hope that all the political parties and governments would learn lessons from the success of NDA (BJP-JDU) government in Bihar and would look at their performance card rather than making some discriminating policies for appeasement of sections, in order to win votes.

I was surprised to see that Srilanka underwent the Presidential Polls some days back. This has happened so soon after Srilankan victory over Tamil rebels and the LTTE.  

I feel whenever a nation or a region undergoes an exceptional and historical crisis – there should not be any immediate polls for at least one year, or till the dust settles. Its because the public and electorate are expected to cast their votes on sentiments rather than on factual realities. What we call electoral ‘wave’ – I don’t think its good for a healthy democracy. A very good example of it is when elections were carried out in the post-Godhra riot infested Gujarat state of India – the ruling party won and a fear psychology was also a major contributor in the win. Same for the case of post Indira Gandhi’s murder – it was a plain guess that Rajiv Gandhi would win the polls, not becaue he was capable but because the voters voted for him in gratitude for his mother. Same was the case soon after Rajiv Gandhi’s assisination – Congress won the polls and P. V. Narasimha Rao came to power. Then we can have examples from other nations too – when people by and large voted just on one issue or event or crisis. Such elections which are conducted while the nation is ‘psychologically involved’ with one event (like assisinaiton, death or war) can’t be unbiased.  

I wonder if some other international think tank has thought about it before. I strongly advocate for no-elections till things come to normalcy – may be one year after the occurance of the exceptional event or crisis which changed the nation’s mood and sentiments. Till then, we can have options from the previous government, a new caretaker government, or the presidential rule in a state, to go on. I think what I am advocating for is very important for a healthy democracy to function properly.  

- Rahul

Divine Interventions

That day, I came to a conclusion: men look ugly when they cry. This has got nothing to do with male chauvinism. I was watching TV, a news channel to be precise. A man was shown weeping. He was claiming injustice, in between, when he was not weeping. But his expectation for justice was strange: "Give me one opportunity to talk to Sonia Ji, I know I will get justice". Under such circumstances, if I noticed just his weeping and came to that humble conclusion, then I would really be na�ve. There was much in between the lines… Who is the centre of ultimate power in India? Where do all bucks stop? Which is the embodiment of final verdict? Supreme Court? Parliament? Prime Minister? I won't say President Any answers? I think you guessed it right; and another conclusion: Even crying men have stuff in their head.

I have read Godfather and also watched its bollywood version Sarkar. In the perfect mafia state, nothing is as it looks on the surface. Government runs, parliament debates and makes laws, courts give verdict, but the one who "takes decisions" is the Godfather! Are not we close to this situation?

Remember who one fine morning decided to reduce the petrol prices by 2 rupees last year? That is a very small example. Today, from the making travel plans of PM, to evaluating CMs, everything is decided by one person. What ever the decision the Governors take in their respective states are guided by one person. Examples: governments' formation/debacles in Bihar, Jharkhand and Kerala. Now, no one wonders when that Quattrochi moves out free and CBI can't find proof against the likes of Sibu Soren and Lalu Yadav. It is more than visible that the power centre doesn't lie either in the Prime Minister's house, or around the Rastrapati Bhawan. It lies at the whims and fancy of only one person and the point is: that person was never authorized to take decisions by the citizens of India!

Within the party, those who have her blessings, will continue to ruin the nation by sleeping on their ministerial seats till they get a nature's call (heaven's call.. oops, it should be hell's call to be honest). The loyal guards of the family may do a thousand mistakes, but will continue to call the shots. And those who don't obey will go into oblivion.

Within the nation, whatever happens is with permission of one person. And you can bend a mountain but can't make that one person agree. People blame a week opposition for the present state of affairs; but as a matter of fact, the power centre is so meanly hard-headed that it is nearly impossible to get your point across. At the beginning of UPA's term, the NDA was, most of the time, boycotting the parliament sessions. There was hardly any other way! They won't listen! You keep shouting for hours, and the ministers will wake up at the end of the session and say "thank you" and go away! It has never been an equal game for ruling party and the opposition in India. This may not be dictatorship; this may not be mafia raaz, but I am sure about one thing: this is not the Indian democracy.

When those representing government made a mistake of blaspheming, everyone looked at one person. Tomorrow, if PM is to announce a relief package, the media persons will flock around her house, to confirm the figures. The day after, if there will be any matter of national importance, 'she' will be the decision maker. She is the ultimate power: the divine intervener. Even the TIME magazine knows this, which is why they put her among world's most powerful women. How long will we take to realise this? But one thing, if we realise our true and unfortunate condition, men, please don't cry

US in Iran?

I find this laughable. Perhaps some people don't believe in 'credibility'. US to attack Iran within next 6 months? Unlikely, after seeing their burnt hands in Iraq. I shall get back to confirm on 23^rd February, 2008.

US ready to strike Iran: Former CIA man

WASHINGTON: The US could deliver a military strike against Iran within the next six months, a former CIA officer told Fox News. In an interview on Tuesday, the US TV channel asked Robert Baer, a former CIA field officer assigned to the Middle East, whether the US was preparing for military action against Iran, citing Baer's column for Time Magazine on August 18, where he suggested that Washington officials expect an attack within the next six months. "I've taken an informal poll inside the government," Baer told Fox. "The feeling is we will hit the Islamic Revolutionary Guard (IRGC)." He said the George W Bush administration is convinced "that the Iranians are interfering in Iraq and the rest of the Gulf," but what his sources anticipate is "not exactly a war." "We won't see American troops cross the border," said Baer. "If this is going to happen, it is going to happen very quickly and it is going to surprise a lot of people." There were recent reports that Washington would put Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard ? the largest branch of Iran's military, separate from the rest of the army ? on the terrorism list. Baer said the US military suspects that the Revolutionary Guard is the main supplier of sophisticated improvised explosive devices (IEDs) to insurgents killing coalition forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. He also said there is a belief among neo-conservative elements in the Bush administration that the Revolutionary Guard is an obstacle to democratic and a friendly Iran.

Three Legislators and a System

Kumar Rahul Tiwary

The beauty of our Indian democratic system is: the moment you feel proud of it, you will see a thousand reasons to be ashamed of. And if you are ever ashamed of it, you will have another ten thousand reasons to be proud of the system! Today, when I went through the 18 pages of HT, I got three interesting news to prove this:

Incident 1:

In Yavatmal, Maharastra, the district police has been allegedly harassing a taxi driver and had filed a few false cases against him. The taxi driver was in a helpless situation. He came to know that a state minister, who hailed from his district, was coming to hoist the national flag on 15^th of August at Yavatmal. The taxi driver reached the venue. This was full and final attempt from his part. He was so serious about his plans and future, that he took a bottle of poison with him. But the police prevented him from meeting the minister. Seeing his efforts to meet the minister turning futile, he consumed poison in front of the minister. He was rushed to the district hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival.

Incident 2:

A state minister's car ran over a 60 year's old lady who was crossing the road. She died on the spot. After the accident, the minister left the accident site on another car! Later, villagers blocked the traffic on Nagpur ' Umrer road. The police arrested the minister's driver.

Incident 3:

At a legislator's residence, his supporters were bursting crackers on the eve of his birthday. It was already midnight. A police patrol party arrived and asked the legislator and his supporters not to burst crackers at this time of night. The supporters misbehaved with the police party. Then the police commissioner arrived, and arrested the legislator. The MLA tried to resist his arrest violently. Then, the commissioner allegedly "shoved a revolver in the legislator's mouth and beat him up" before arresting him. The legislator spent his night in the intensive care unit of a hospital! Next morning, he was produced before a court, and was released on bail.

The third incident makes things even for an optimist, and proves the assertions at the beginning of this article. Here are some conclusions:

o Many a times, even life saving drugs are sold fake in India, but the poisons are always genuine!

o It is easiest for the aam-aadami to protest violently on the roads, and vandalize public property, because they are rarely honoured and graced with the opportunity to see and talk to their own representatives.

o There is still some amount of "Bollywood" remaining inside the "Police Inspectors".

o If you thought such incidents happened in Bihar and UP alone, get your facts right. All these three incidents have happened in Maharastra.

[Mumbai, 17 Aug. 07]

To: mumbailetters@hindustantimes.com, letters@hindustantimes.com

CC: pradipmaitra@hindustantimes.com

Sub: Letter to Editor

Dear Sir,

This is with reference to the report in HT (Cabbie kills self in front of minister, by Pradip Maitra, Page 7, 17 Aug, 2007). It was so sad that the cabbie had to resort to such extreme step in frustration of not being able to meet the minister. Indian democracy is so screwed up that the aam aadami has to resort to threats and vandalism just in order to see his representatives! Or should I say mai-baap?

Yours truly,

Kumar Rahul

Vile Parle,

Mumbai

Power Struck in Goa

What do you think about the recent happenings in Goa assembly? Saying that "all parties are same" or "everyone does that", can't be an excuse. I congratulate the Hindustan Times for writing such a brilliant piece. Please go through this.

Hindustan Times

July 31, 2007

First Published: 23:25 IST(31/7/2007)

Last Updated: 23:26 IST(31/7/2007)

Goaing through [Link]

One would have thought that in a 40-seat assembly like Goa's, the temptation ? and the opportunities ? to conduct democratic hanky-panky would be limited. After Monday's action in Panaji, one has to perish that thought. Goa Speaker Pratapsinh Rane's decision to disallow three MLAs from participating in the confidence vote was far too obviously a move to ensure that the incumbent Congress-led government survived. After the withdrawal of support for the Digambar Kamat government by the two Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) legislators, Sudhin and Pandurang Dhavlikar, and the subsequent resignation of Congress MLA Victoria Fernandes over internal matters, Governor S.C. Jamir had directed the government to undertake a confidence motion.

Coming as the trust vote did 52 days after the last assembly elections, it seemed that Goa was on the brink of coming up with its 14th Chief Minister since 1990. But the tottering government was propped up by a six-time Congress Chief Minister of Goa and current Speaker. Without blinking an eyelid, Mr Rane put his party credentials out in the open ? and his job as an objective referee inside a closet ? by casting his, by-now crucial, vote in favour of the government. Mr Kamat could not have found a better saviour.

The truth is that there is no provision in the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, which deals with anti-defection, that applies to restraining legislators from voting before ordering their disqualification according to the due legal process. And that due legal process had not been carried out on Monday. It was the two MGP and single Congress legislators shifting their loyalties to the Opposition that made Mr Kamat leave nothing to chance and democracy and made him carry out a travesty. To stay in power is an integral part of the political game. But to stay in power by throwing the rulebook into the Arabian Sea is something that will not reflect well on the Goa Congress. We have witnessed something disquieting in the state of Goa. It's up to Governor Jamir to contain the damage.

[Link]

Criminal Ministers in the land of Gandhi

Kumar Rahul Tiwary

[I wrote this article on 12^th of October, 2004. I put it here for record, with some minor corrections.]

A warrant issued in his name, but he is absconding. Police go on searching his residence, and leave after sticking a copy of the warrant on the main gate. Whom am I talking about? If you are politically unaware, you will guess anything except the reality: he is a union minister in Government of India! The Shibu Soren episode is a blot in the face of Indian democracy. What makes the matter worse is the fact that he is not the only tainted minister in the government!

Let us now compare a former railways minister Lal Bahadur Shastry with the present minister on chair. One was given the portfolio, the other fought for it. One was a perfect gentleman, the other has no control over his tongue. One was a low profile person, the other performs publicity stunts daily. One resigned after a major rail accident, the other is involved in a number of scams involving huge sum of public money, and has criminal charges against him.

How can be the current Indian democracy be like this? Do Indians like such leaders? I can't believe if someone says yes. This once again raises the question: do we deserve a democracy?

In my opinion, glorification of criminals and scammers is a recent trend, it may be a temporary one, but the present government has championed it. The last government, headed by Mr. Atal Bihari Bajpai failed to get into the power again. After the elections, no one got the clear majority. The present UPA government is headed by Congress party which fought without a declared leader. In the climax, the party president rejected the PM’s post. What led her to take this decision is yet not clear, but it is true that a low profile, but honest man was again chosen for the PM’s post.

But the reality is that PM Dr. Man Mohan Singh can only talk while the real power is with the party president and the ministers. The government is a conglomerate of opportunist local leaders who managed to win a dozen seats based on caste, religion, and money. Now when the voters of a small remote place voted for a particular candidate of a local party, after being bribed by currency or a bottle, or only because the candidate was of his caste/religion, they didn’t know that this will lead to such a condition, when such criminals will form a majority in the parliament.

This government is being run just for the sake of running. There is a PM, only because there must be one. The mandate was not for this government, it was against the former. But in the process, what the electorate got was: a tiger in place of a lion. Both will feed on the public interests.

There is little the public can do to prevent the criminals from becoming ministers. On moral grounds, persons with criminal backgrounds shouldn’t be made ministers. But once they have become, what can be done? The constitution doesn’t bar them. So in this condition, should the public just sit and watch?

What keeps my optimism alive is the fact that we have another pillar of democracy which is alive and kicking: the Supreme Court. Take this article as a petition. The tainted persons, with criminal records should not hold any ministerial position. Think about the disaster the criminal ministers can do. Are our highly guarded secrets secured in their hands? In case of an emergency, can they be trusted? They may sell strategic information to other countries. Those, who sold the fodder of cattle, to fill their bank accounts, will for sure sell national interests to the enemy, and we will keep reading integrity and honesty in the text books. What a fall; where are Buddha and Gandhi?

[Raipur, 12 Oct 2004]

My views on Presidential Elections - 2007

Thorat Committee and Art of Making Reports ' Part-I

Let me put the conclusion of my analysis in the beginning itself ' Thorat Committee is about politics, not about equality. Now please go through my analysis in two parts (Thorat Committee and Art of Making Reports ' Part-I and Part-II). Can you sense something unusual? I have used a cue from the Thorat committee. They have displayed a smart piece of artistry in preparing their report: First write down the conclusions and then start the investigations to prove the conclusions! To your relief, I have not perfected this art. 

I have tried not to be judgmental and attempted to base my conclusion from the facts, which no one can dispute. I hope you like this analysis.

            What is Thorat Committee?

Three-member Thorat Committee was constituted by the government of India in September, 2006 to look into allegations of discrimination against reserved category students at the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). This followed the tussle between the AIIMS director Dr. P Venugopal (who wanted to maintain the autonomy of the institute) and Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss, Union Health and Family Welfare Minister (who wanted to take control of management decisions and working). The war between the two got a real high when the minister held Dr. Venugopal responsible of criticizing the government over proposed 27% caste based OBC reservations (rule 9 of the conduct rules prohibits a government servant from criticizing the government in the media), leading to sacking the director. Delhi High Court stayed the sacking order, but this embarrassment didn't deter the minister from continuing the war. The committee got its name from its head Mr. S. K. Thorat.

            The committee members

1. S. K. Thorat, Chairperson of University Grants Commission - Head
2. K. M. Shyam Prasad, Vice-President of the National Board of Examinations
3. R. K. Srivastava, Director-General of Health Services.

            The idea behind the committee

A Times of India report appeared on September 12, 2006, titled, “Dalit students 'abused’ at AIIMS.” This prompted health minister Anbumani Ramadoss to set up the Thorat inquiry the same evening.

            Submission of report

The committee submitted its report to Anbumani Ramadoss, Union Health and Family Welfare Minister on May 5, 2007.  

Conclusions and recommendations of the committee

Major conclusions and recommendations are under:

1. AIIMS Director Dr. P. Venugopal played a provocative role in the origination of the students' agitation against 27% OBC reservations.

2. The committee reports that more than two thirds of the reserved category students confirmed to them that they had faced caste based discriminations in the institute, their evaluation was not proper, they often got less than expected marks, higher caste faculty members enquired about the castes of the students during viva voce, and they shifted their hostels to remain safe.

3. The committee suggested towards more objective based tests to prevent disclosure of identity of the students to the evaluators.

4. The committee recommended that a committee of students, residents and faculty be set up to examine and study social divisions on the campus and suggest measures to remedy the situation.

            Modes of investigations by the Thorat committee

1. Thorat Committee never interacted with any one from the faculty of AIIMS.

2. The committee had to meet the alleged victims secretly for its task of recording evidence, because the Director of AIIMS, Dr. P. Venugopal didn’t cooperate with them in the investigations.

            My objections to the Thorat committee report

          The most important point is that the Thorat committee report can't be looked at in isolation. Some important factors and objections to the committee report are:

a)     The background leading to the formation of the committee (tussle between Health Minister and the Director) is a very important factor, which points towards the fact that this committee might have been formed by the minister to set scores with the director.  

b)     Timing of the committee formation: Why the committee was formed in the year 2006 (exactly after the High Court stayed the sacking of the Director)? If the alleged discrimination of the reserved category students are being done for a long time, why didn't the minister bothered to look at the matter before?

c)     Members of the committee: They come from positions where they can't make the government unhappy, for the sake of their own careers.

d)     Times of India exclusive article: Why didn't the minister, who is the president of the institute for many years, come to know about the alleged discriminations before a Times of India article came up? Also, Times of India has been famous for creating its own stories and strongly pushing them.

e)     Who should conduct inquiry: Why was the committee formed and its report submitted to the Health Minster when the matter involving was a clear case of alleged human rights violation. Why the matter was not reported in front of the National Human Rights Commission?

f)       Emotional response: In the emotionally charged condition, when the fate of the law enforcing the 27% quota in central educational institutions is hanging in the Supreme Court, how could the committee make sure that the reserved category students who took part in the investigation were speaking unbiased truth? Some allegations like "their evaluation was not proper" and "they often got less than expected marks" are vague statements. Ask any student and he or she will say that the evaluation was not proper or the marks were less than expected. This is the basic psychology of students and examinees.

g)     If the higher caste faculty members really enquired about the castes of their students during viva voce, why didn't the professors belonging to the castes of the reserved category students protest, or inform the minister who is the President of the institute?

h)     Why didn't the committee consult even a single faculty member? At least it should have consulted the faculty belonging to the castes of reserved categories, to get the real picture from those who are learned and mature enough.

i)        The methodology of investigation consisting of only "asking" the alleged victims doesn't seem convincing.   

j)       Accountability of Dr. Ramadoss: If the alleged caste based discriminations are true, then as President of AIIMS, what is the accountability of Health Minister Dr. Ramadoss in maintaining a healthy non-discriminatory atmosphere in the institute?

k)      Thorat Committee's recommendations of forming "another committee of students, residents and faculty to examine and study social divisions on the campus and suggest measures to remedy the situation" means this committee didn't do its job properly. This was the very purpose for which the Thorat committee was formed and now the committee, after investigating for over 8 months, wants another committee to do its job! Why should not the committee report be accounted null and void?

Need for greater autonomy of premier institutes

It should be noted that the Public Accounts Committee Report (2004-2005) tabled in the parliament spoke of the need to back off from interference in the AIIMS functioning. The premier institutes like IIMs, IITs, IISc, and AIIMS have been able to excel to the present level and made an international brand of themselves because of the dedicated faculty and management contributions. A level of autonomy is very important for the continual growth of such institutions, otherwise the bureaucracy can play havoc on the quality of education. The politicians of India have a proven track record of interfering in all public institutions, creating new hurdles, quotas and licenses, and ultimately degrading the quality.

Conclusions

            Conclusions are drawn after keeping in view the background and events leading to the present condition, as presented in Part-II of this article and the above mentioned objections.

            Dr. P. Venugopal is an eminent figure in the medical field in India, a true recipient of the Padma Bhusan. He has been associated with the AIIMS for over 48 years and if now there are some allegations which make him a casteist and an autocratic leader, the allegations should be investigated in a nonpartisan manner, also taking note of the events that are precursor of the present situation.

The manner, in which the present Health Minister Dr. A. Ramadoss has tried to dilute the autonomy of the AIIMS and to bring down Dr. P. Venugopal from his chair, is a story of a despotic minister who runs on his whim.

The Thorat Committee report should not be looked at in isolation. The committee and its report have many aspects which make one suspect its real intentions (See "My objections to the Thorat committee report"). It seems the committee was formed by the minister of health to get even with the AIIMS director, who didn't toe his lines. The committee seems to conclude exactly what was expected of it, and blamed exactly who were expected to be blamed by it; it was a grand design to frame up the AIIMS director Dr. P. Venugopal. Therefore I say - Thorat Committee is about politics, not about equality.

Note: Please see Part-II of this article for more information and facts.

Thorat Committee and Art of Making Reports' Part-II

Know your AIIMS:

• AIIMS was created to be the premier medical institute in India by the central government in 1956.

• It has been ranked repeatedly at the top in its field in annual surveys (starting in 1997) published by India Today.

• It ranked first in Asia in the medical colleges and institution survey (MCIS) conducted by WHO for 2006-07.

• It earned the First Priority Hospitals (FPH) standard by Time Magazine.

• As per Forbes (Germany), most European nations recommend AIIMS for medical tourism in Asia.

• The hospital has been able to maintain high standards of quality while seeing large numbers of patients (3.5 million in 2006) at very low cost to patients.

• MBBS at AIIMS has a batch size of 50. (33 Gen, 11 SC/ST, 1 phy handicap, and 5 international students nominated by Government of India). Around 75000 students appear for its entrance test every year.

• Main courses offered by the institute are: MBBS, MD/MS, DM/MCh, BSc courses in Nursing, Paramedical and medical specialties, MSc, MBiotech, PhD in many specialties, etc.

• Recently Dr. BR Ambedkar Institute Rotary Cancer Hospital’s construction has been completed. It specializes in medical, radiation and surgical oncology.

Know your Dr. P. Venugopal

• Director of AIIMS since year 2003.

• Dr. Venugopal has been associated with AIIMS for 48 years. He joined the institute in 1959 as an undergraduate, did his post-graduation from AIIMS and has been associated with it ever since. He joined AIIMS as a faculty member in 1970.

• He performed the first Heart Transplant surgery In India in 1994.

• It was after this pioneering surgery by him, that the Govt. of India passed an act allowing transplant of hearts of 'Brain Dead' patients (mostly accident cases) to needy Cardiac Patients. Hundreds have benefited by that Act.

• He is one of the topmost cardiac experts in India.

• He has received several international awards in his field.

• He has conducted over 50,000 open heart surgeries.

• He was decorated with Padma Bhushan in 1998 for his achievements.

• After the events of being sacked by the board headed by health minister, Dr. Venugopal said, “I am looking forward to maintaining the autonomy and dignity of the institute for which I have always fought,” adding he could ignore the “personal humiliation” meted out to him.

Know your Dr. A. Ramadoss

• Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare.

• He is President of AIIMS.

• Member of Rajya Sabha (elected in 2004).

• He was a student of Madras Medical College and did his MBBS from there.

• He belongs to the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) founded by his father Dr S. Ramadoss.

• Got Dr. Rajashekharan (a close relative of his) elected as chairman of the selection committee at AIIMS.

• Some of his contributions to India are:

• Urged film and sports stars to not endorse soft drinks
• Publicly contested UN figures on AIDS in India
• Advocated statutory warnings for smoking on screen

• He is nicknamed “the minister for Venugopal affairs”; and “a bull in a china shop” infamously.

The war between the veterans

The tussle between the AIIMS director Dr. Venugopal and Health Minister Dr Anbumani Ramadoss is almost two years old. The AIIMS director and the Health Minister did not get along from the very beginning as Venugopal was seen as "a BJP-appointee". Problems began with Ramadoss's stay at the AIIMS guest house when he became Health Minister.

In May 2006, when the protests against proposed 27% reservations in central universities gained momentum all over the country, many students from AIIMS joined the protests. They staged a strike and all medical services were shut but parallel OPDs were started after the strike had been carried out for a long time. The strike continued till 31 May 2006 when the doctors called off their strike after the Supreme Court of India orders. Union health minister Dr. Ramadoss accused Dr. Venugopal for supporting the protesting students.  

On 5th of July, 2006, a day before the birthday of Dr. Venugopal, AIIMS governing body met over an ‘extra ordinary meeting’ in the morning. As president of AIIMS, health minister Ramadoss presided over the meeting. Dr. Venugopal was member-secretary body and he too had come for the meeting. But he was asked to wait outside of the meeting room by Dr. Ramadoss. Dr. Venugopal waited outside the room for over one hour. Then he was called in and handed over his termination letter. Points to be noted here are:

1. Decision or discussion over the fate of the director of AIIMS was not in the agenda of the meeting.
2. There was no consensus in the 15 member board on sacking the Director, but no voting was carried out.
3. Three members, including BJP’s VK Malhotra were vocal in their opposition to the decision, but were not heard.

The despotic manner in which Dr. Ramadoss carried out this episode invited wide criticism from the press. But most of the newspapers in my memory wrote some sort of obituary for Dr. Venugopal, as if he was a dead man. The TOI made a mockery of him, under title “Ramadoss’s birthday gift to Venugopal: Sack letter”.

The day after, Dr. Venugopal filed a petition in the Delhi High Court, challenging the decision to sack him. Senior counsel Arun Jaitley (BJP) appeared for Venugopal in the court. The attitude of the government here is noticeable. The Centre told the court that it was willing to withdraw the resolution seeking termination of services of director Venugopal provided he relinquished his office on his own. It showed that the government was very sure that court will not try to interfere in its decision to sack the director, and they would continue running the country as their farmland! But, on July 7, the Delhi High Court stayed the sacking orders. It was a victory of one man standing against the clout of a despotic minister backed by the government of India.

It should be noted that the Mandal-II protests were a success not only in AIIMS, but also in IIT Delhi and many other institutes. The increased reservations were to put large pressures on the limited infrastructure and education facilities, therefore many industry leaders and experts criticized this law. Some members of national knowledge commission, a think tank set up by the government of India had resigned in protest against the dictatorial attitude of the government. Also, AIIMS has a history of coming out to the causes of the national importance. During the Emergency, AIIMS Students Union was among the first organizations in the country to go on strike, and was banned by the government. Protests were held all over India, but one man ' the union health minister Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss made sure that he uses the issue to gain control over the institute. The war instigated by Dr. Ramadoss not only attacked the AIIMS director and the autonomy of the institute but also spoiled the educational environment in an institution of higher learning.

Those who supported Dr. Venugopal:

1)     The BJP: It was the NDA government which had appointed Dr. Venugopal as the director of AIIMS in 2003. Therefore it was natural that the BJP came to his support and called him "one of the greatest doctors of India". BJP spokesperson Mr. Ravi Shankar Prasad said, "This public humiliation is completely unwarranted. The government should not interfere in the functioning of AIIMS". (But after a while, like all other issues that BJP took up, gradually the party became less vocal on the issue and afterwards became totally silent. Loss of a strong opposition is not because of the weakness of the BJP or NDA, it is because of the ruthless manner in which the Congress party goes after its adversaries until they become silent.)

2)     The TDP: There were some attempts by the party to make this issue an issue of pride of people from Andhra Pradesh. Deccan Herand News reported on July 6, 2006 that the TDP had sought the intervention of President A P J Abdul Kalam and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to reinstate ousted AIIMS Director P. Venugopal to the post and demanded the removal of Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramdoss in this connection. Party spokesman M V Mysoora Reddy said, “His unceremonial removal is a great insult to all Telugu-speaking people and Union Ministers from Andhra Pradesh”.

Some comments from other netizens

Just four of these comments would assure you that the Indian electorate is very much learned about the issue. Public understands what is Truth and what is Thorhat! 

“If IIMs can have autonomy and Mr. Narayan Murthy can get vocal about mere decrease in fee or reservation, why a different set of rules for Dr. Venugopal and AIIMS?”

“Health minister Dr. Ramadoss studied at Madras Medical College (possibly on a quota seat) … He appointed his sisters father-in-law as a member of the AIIMS committee and he is son-in-law of the Tamilnadu congress president….. If he had ever practiced medicine, then he would have known what Dr. Venugopal has done for Indian Medicine and would have not been so vengeful…”

“Coming from a rich background riding the caste politics from Vanniyar community, this minister has no qualifications to be a politician, except that he is the son of an influential casteist politician, from a small region in TN.”

“He (Dr. A. Ramadoss) wouldn't have survived in private sector if he had behaved like that.”