It’s All About Money

MPs out to grab what they can

    The Union cabinet has cleared a 200 per cent hike in salaries and allowances of our MPs, but
they aren’t happy. A section of them stalled proceedings in the Lok Sabha on Friday on the issue.
Curiously, one of the demands raised by the protestors is that their basic salary must be at least a
rupee more than Rs 80,000, the salary drawn by the country’s top bureaucrats. The demand is
unreasonable and based on flawed logic. Compare the clamour for money by India’s political
class with the radical steps in countries like the UK to slash salaries of public officials to rein in
fiscal deficits, and the former ought to be ashamed of themselves.
    What the cabinet has cleared is more than reasonable. At over Rs 37 lakh a year, our MPs take
home more money than their counterparts in developed countries including Japan, Italy and
Singapore. Their pay is 68 times more than what the average Indian earns annually. So there is
no case for complaining that MPs are underpaid. Similarly, the demand to peg the basic pay
about that of top civil servants is ludicrous. The jobs are not comparable. Legislators are
empowered to oversee the working of the bureaucracy, but those privileges provided by the
Constitution can’t be translated into higher pay.
    The hungama over pay hike also raises questions of propriety. Our MPs deserve to be well
paid, but the pay needs to be commensurate with their work and the hike ought to be reasonable.
Equally important is who decides what is a reasonable raise? Surely it can’t be MPs themselves,
which is presently the case. A pay commission comprising non-parliamentarians could determine
what ought to be the salaries, allowances and perks of MPs. The commission must not limit its
remit to the basic salary and allowances MPs are entitled to but also monetise perks like free
housing, furniture, water, power, interest-free car loans etc while fixing the pay packet.
    It must be remembered that the claim for more money is raised in a Parliament dominated by
crorepatis. Over 58 per cent of the members in the present Lok Sabha have declared assets of
more than a crore: the average asset holding of a Lok Sabha MP is Rs 5.33 crore. So it’s a club
of millionaires that’s clamouring for more, at a time of high inflation and economic distress. Let
them not forget that voters are watching.

THE SPEAKING TREE

River Of Enlightenment
Bindu Chawla

    Long before the universities packaged the deeply spiritual science of Hindustani music into classroom
textbooks, the masters used very little verbiage to communicate its essence.
    They explained little, but when they did, it was in the form of idioms, proverbs, hyperboles and
adages. But these would show you the world!
    For instance, lesson one, they would say, ‘paanee karo’, asking you to repeat. Like the word simran or
internal repetition in scriptures, you were to repeat the notes, phrases, scale and words, not just a few
times, not for some time, but for hours – nay, for years, till your words and musical phrases flowed to
perfection.
    Ustad Amir Khan Saheb would often nod and hand over the socalled ‘simple’ prescription to his
disciples: “Hmmm, sapaat…, karte raho”. The word sapaat means ‘straight’, and he referred to the
straight up and down movements of the scale or the raga, to be repeated at length till the gems of
enlightenment about its inner nature began to flash through your mind in intuition, and the raga shed its
heaviness, flowing out of you like a river of enlightenment.
    Once, when Khan Saheb had just finished singing a big raga seated among his disciples, Pandit
Amarnathji smiled at him and said, “Khan Saheb, you have turned the singing into light music,” at which
one of his gurubhais saw red, thinking it an affront. But Khan Saheb smiled at Panditji affectionately,
saying “I appreciate your understanding”. He knew what he meant to say. That the greatest of music
‘sounded’ simple though an immense amount of hard labour had gone into reaching its state of lucidity.
    On another occasion, after he performed the muhurat for Garam Coat, a film whose music was
composed by Panditji, his disciple, Ustad Amir Khan Saheb, asked, “Son, how long did you take to
compose this song?” It was the beautiful ‘Jogia se preet kiye dukh hoye’, a Meera bhajan sung by Lata
Mangeshkar. “About 15-20 days”, was the reply. To which Khan Saheb said, “If you were to take the
same amount of time to compose your rendering of any raga before each concert, how would it be…?” It
was the same lesson in ‘simplicity’.
    Beyond the rational mind, it was repetition alone that took you to the highest peak in your sadhana –
to samadhi state, union with the Supreme. The very words aalaap and taan in the Hindustani khayal
refer to dhyana or concentration on the raga’s form till the point of its dissolution in the mind during
singing, both slow and fast. Aalaap means to expand or ‘spread the notes wide’ during slow unfolding of
the raga’s scale, and taan means to ‘stretch them taut’ in the faster portion, as the artist reaches the
peak of exhilaration in dhyana, forgetting all else. And in the process, taking along his listeners as well!
    Pandit Amarnathji would say that the image of the raga’s scale in your mind should be horizontal, not
vertical, talking of the raga’s inner direction during meditation, which is meant to take you to another
kind of 'high' – and to the ‘mental release’. Finally, as he said, “meditation means not to concentrate on
anything when you sing”.

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Acting Against Hunger
An efficient delivery mechanism will be the key to ensuring food security

Bhaskar Dutta

    A parliamentary standing committee has recently asked the government to introduce the national
food security Bill in the winter session of the Lok Sabha. A promise to implement a Bill of this kind was
first mooted in President Pratibha Patil’s inaugural speech last year when she mentioned the
government’s intention to provide each family below the poverty line (BPL) with 25 kg of foodgrains a
month at Rs 3 per kg.
    The public debate about the “right to food” and the appropriate contents of the Act has continued
ever since, and has indeed intensified because food prices keep marching up. In particular, social
activists have argued that the right cannot be restricted simply to the BPL families and that the quantity
of grain mentioned in the president’s speech is quite inadequate.
    Perhaps, in response to this, the National Advisory Council (NAC) has recommended that the Act
should provide every family in the 200 most disadvantaged districts with 35 kg of rice or wheat at Rs 3
per kg. The NAC also suggested that the benefits of the Act may be restricted to BPL families in the rest
of the country, although it also set the target of universal coverage by 2015. Although Sonia Gandhi’s
presence in the NAC gives its recommendations enormous weight, the government has still been
dragging its feet and it is not clear as yet about the contents of the Act in its final form.
    Is the government’s reluctance to implement the NAC recommendations justified? The answer has
nothing to do with the intrinsic merits of such a legislation. It needs no statistical facts to convince
anyone that vast numbers of our poor go hungry to bed every night – although every government in
independent India has promised to work tirelessly for the poor! That is why a legal right to food is so
important to the poor – it forces the government to honour its promises. However, no government
should pass a law that
simply cannot be implemented. Routine and repeated violations of individual rights debase the very
meaning of rights and laws.
    In the foreseeable future, even a government with the best of intentions cannot ensure that it
provides BPL families throughout the country with the stipulated amount of foodgrains. The reason for
this is not the availability of food – as we surely know, Food Corporation of India (FCI) warehouses are
stuffed to their capacity. The only real constraint is the lack of any adequate delivery mechanism.
    The public distribution system has become an article of faith in India. In fact, even the NAC suggests
that grain to the poor should be distributed through the PDS. However, this faith ignores completely the
wealth of data establishing the gross inadequacy of the PDS. Consider some of the evidence against the
PDS. A recent study shows that twothirds of the grain allocated to the PDS for distribution to the poor
end up in the open market. Contrary to popular belief, large numbers of the poor do not purchase their
foodgrain from the PDS for a variety of reasons – lack of PDS outlets specially in the north, absence of
BPL cards, the inability to buy in bulk. Not surprisingly, there are estimates showing that the poor
receive only 10 per cent of the total food subsidy bill.
    Perhaps, the PDS can be improved. But this is not going to happen in a hurry. However, there is no
need to wait for the wholesale revamping of the PDS before launching a modified form of the food
security Bill. A start can be made by initiating the first component of the NAC recommendation – of
providing universal coverage to the poorest 200 districts. Incidentally, universal coverage in any given
region has the advantage that it abolishes the need to identify BPL families. The restriction on
geographical coverage will obviously make it that much easier for the government to ensure that an
adequate delivery mechanism is in place in these areas. The Bill can also specify a reasonable timetable
within which food security will be extended gradually all over the country.
    It is also important to realise the imperative to look for alternatives to the PDS. The government’s
Economic Survey for the current year set the ball rolling by discussing the system of food stamps. The
use of food stamps originated in the US in 1964, and has since then been used in several countries
including Sri Lanka, Jamaica, Mexico and Honduras. Under this scheme, the target population is issued
coupons or stamps which recipients can exchange for stipulated amounts of food at any shop – not just
ration shops. The shop owners can then deposit these coupons in their bank accounts and be credited
appropriate amounts, which depend on prevailing market prices.
    The biggest advantage of food stamps is that it would wipe out the leakages associated with the PDS.
Moreover, to the extent that private traders are more efficient than the FCI, there would be a social
saving in terms of the lower delivery costs. Of course, the system is not foolproof. But then, the
benchmark is the PDS, and so the appropriate question to ask is how any new system compares relative
to the PDS.

What Kashmir Wants

Healing the state means reducing security presence and delivering genuine
democracy

Najeeb Jung

    This has been a summer of discontent for the Kashmir valley. The death of the 17-year-old Tufail
Mattoo, fatally hit by a teargas shell, and the drowning of two young women in Shopian became rallying
grounds against an insensitive state apparatus. The home minister has acknowledged that the nature
and intensity of the current agitation are different from the past. This is the first acknowledgement of
the ground realities by the government of India.
    Over the past 60 years, India has adopted an ostrichlike approach denying acceptance of the truth
that, emotionally, Kashmir was rarely with it. Commencing with Sheikh Abdullah’s arrest in 1953, the
systematic “management” of successive elections, the heavy presence of the Indian army, the absence
of real development and the lacklustre performance of Kashmiri politicians present an amalgam that lies
at the heart of the disturbances today.
    But perceptions outside Kashmir often belie the truth. While the flawed development paradigm
largely implied food and grain subsidies, the rest of India thinks that it is a pampered state, treated with
kid gloves because of its geographical and emotional proximity to Pakistan. Article 370 guarantees
Kashmiris special privileges. Over decades they received subsidies, their lands have been unjustifiably
protected under the Constitution prohibiting the rest of India to buy land or invest in parts of Jammu &
Kashmir. They can never be allowed a plebiscite for their loyalty is suspect. It is generally accepted that
they harbour terrorists who attack India, and were actively involved in pushing the Pandits out of their
homes to become refugees in their own country. Therefore, it is time for the government to get its act
together and clean up the Valley. To many, being Kashmiri means being anti-India.
    Over the past six decades, no government has sensitised India to the unique situation of Kashmir.
There is no sensitisation to affirmative action and no dissemination of information that, if there is Article
370
in Kashmir, there is also Article 371-A for Nagaland, 371-B for Assam, 371-C for Manipur, 371-D for
Andhra Pradesh, 371-F for Sikkim, 371-G for Mizoram, 371-H for Arunachal Pradesh and 371-I for Goa.
All these Articles grant special rights and privileges to these states depending on their culture, society
and history. But society has not been adequately sensitised, with the result that now governments are
concerned that any special package offered to Kashmir will be perceived as weakness and, therefore,
have a political fallout.
    But the fallout is now before us. The central and state governments are scampering for solutions.
Curfew, the last resort for any good administration, is for the past two months a way of life. In this holy
month of Ramadan when people fast and pray, fasting students are confronting the Indian military.
There are no medicines for the old, no milk for babies, no food for the ordinary person. Mothers deliver
babies at home, there is no emergency aid for the critically ill, no business and work for the daily artisan,
the weaver, the ordinary Indian Kashmiri, no birthday celebrations, no weddings. There is no politically
effective party left in Kashmir and each party is perceived as opportunist.
    My students tell me that a major of the army has greater powers than the chief minister who flies off
to New Delhi to get clearances. The home office in Delhi dictates the civil administration in Kashmir.
These may be perceptions but they must be corrected. The government, however, is doing little to
create an atmosphere conducive for peace talks.
    So what is required to rebuild peace in this land of Sufis, mystics, farmers and rabaab players? What is
the deeper meaning behind the cry for azadi? Does the Kashmiri really expect azadi? Does any right-
thinking person actually wish to associate with a failed state like Pakistan? Or is it that in the garb of this
exaggerated cry, the Kashmiri actually wishes to use it as a bargaining chip to extract the maximum
autonomy that the government of India can concede, perhaps go close to the Agreement of 1952 signed
with Sheikh Abdullah? He is keen for restoration of normalcy and true democracy but will not let this
movement die till he gains major concessions. He seeks freedom of expression, freedom of the press
and freedom from the awesome presence of the army and its pickets. He does not wish the next
generation to grow up under the shadow of the gun. This is his azadi.
    It is, therefore, incumbent on the governments in New Delhi and the state to create an atmosphere
conducive to talks. This arguably will not be easy. It will involve the withdrawal of the armed forces
either back to their barracks or to borders. It will certainly mean the revocation of the dreaded Armed
Forces Special Powers Act. It will mean release of political prisoners – despite the risk this entails – and it
will mean a reluctant chief minister stepping out from the protected walls of his residence to face the
anger of the young and old for acts of omission and commission over the past two months. All this
requires courage and conviction. Should this happen, we may hope for talks to resume. Should it not,
this summer of discontent will be a bitter winter of despair.
    The writer is vice-chancellor, Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi.

Curfew in Srinagar: Barbed wire won't bring normalcy

THE SPEAKING TREE

The Spirit Of Ramzan

M Aslam

    Fasting during the month of Ramzan not only serves as annual training for body and soul – which
helps in renewal of life and encourages the spirit of sharing and giving – but also contains all possible
attributes which can promote spirituality and human excellence.
    The first wisdom to be gained in fasting is taqwa or self-restraint. The Quran states: "O you who
believe! Fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you that you may (learn) self-
restraint" (2:183).
    It becomes evident to those who sincerely observe fast that fasting instils the essence of
consciousness of the Creator in the devotee’s heart. It also instils moral courage and guides the seat of
our emotions on moral issues. Since fasting helps in conditioning the heart, soul and body, it simply
leads to tranquillity and calmness in the face of adversity. This helps one become patient. Patience is the
pinnacle of discipline and spiritual suppleness. Jalaluddin Rumi said: ‘Have patience, for that is true
worship’.
    We acquire habits. Some of these are good habits and some are bad. Take smoking, for instance. It is
difficult to kick the habit. But during Ramzan, the roza helps control the urge to smoke. Fasting provides
the observer an opportunity in helping control or change his habit, as smoking is prohibited during
fasting. I was a chain-smoker 12 years ago and it was fasting that created in me the necessary level of
determination, enabling me to kick the habit forever.
    The Ramzan fasting is a sentinel against common prevalent diseases such as obesity and blood
pressure, provided the person fasting follows the strict dietary rule: eat during fast-breaking time and
avoid overeating. God states: "...Eat and drink, but waste not by excess, for Allah loves not wasters"
(Quran 7:31). My blood pressure levels remain absolutely normal during the month of fasting.
    Sociologically speaking fasting is an expression of solidarity with the poor by giving generously, with
family, friends and society by bonding, praying, fasting and eating together. During Ramzan the family
eats together twice a day for a month.
    Tajuddin B Shu’aib in Essentials of Ramadan, The Fasting Month summarises the essence of fasting as
a tool for reconstruction of our spiritual faculties: “Fasting is a unique form of worship prescribed as part
of an overall system of Islam. Its uniqueness mirrors the uniqueness of the human being… Too much of
the physical material will ruin man, and too much of the spiritual will, too. Fasting orients the observer
to the art of balancing the spiritual essentials with physical needs, a vivid proof that there is in all of us
the willpower, a pivotal element that controls our actions. Fasting is the sobering of a mind and
reconstruction of our spiritual faculties.” I pray that our spiritual faculties get awakened during this
month of fasting and we are able to balance the spiritual essentials with our physical needs.
    The writer, a sociologist, is currently director, School of Continuing Education at IGNOU, New
Delhi. maslammir@yahoo.co.in 

THE SPEAKING TREE

The Saint And The Scorpion

Discourse: Swami Chidananda

    One day a sadhu went to the river to bathe. There he noticed a scorpion struggling in the water.
Scorpions cannot swim and the sadhu knew that if he did not save the scorpion, it would drown.
Therefore, carefully picking up the scorpion, the monk rescued it from drowning and was just about to
set it down gently on land when the scorpion stung his finger. In pain, the sadhu instinctively flung his
hand and the scorpion went flying, back into the river. As soon as the sadhu regained his composure
from the sting, he again lifted the scorpion out of the water. Again, before he could set the scorpion
safely on land, the creature stung him. This
drama went on for several minutes.
    A hunter watched as the saint carefully and gingerly lifted the creature out of the water, only to fling it
back in as he convulsed in pain from each fresh sting. Finally, the hunter said to the sadhu, “Forgive me
for my frankness, but it is clear that the scorpion is simply going to continue to sting you each and every
time you try to carry it to safety. Why don’t you give up and just let it drown?”
    The sadhu replied: “My dear child, the scorpion is not stinging me out of malice or evil intent. Just as it
is the water’s nature to make me wet, so it is the scorpion’s nature to sting. He doesn’t realise that i am
carrying him to safety. That is a level of conscious comprehension greater than what his brain can
achieve. But, just as it is the scorpion’s nature to sting, so it is my nature to save. Just as he is not leaving
his nature, why should i leave my nature? My dharma is to help any creature of any kind – human or
animal. Why should i let a small scorpion rob me of the divine nature which i have cultivated through
years of sadhana?”
    In our lives we encounter people who harm us, insult us, plot against us, whose actions seem
calculated to thwart the successful achievement of our goals. Sometimes these are obvious acts, such as
a co-worker who continually steals our ideas or speaks badly of us to our boss. Sometimes these acts are
subtle – a friend, relative or colleague who unexpectedly betrays us or who we find has been
surreptitiously speaking negatively about us behind our back.
    Slowly we find that our own actions, words and thoughts become driven by anger and pain. We find
ourselves engaged in cunning thoughts
    of revenge. Before we realise it, we are
    injuring ourselves by allowing negative emotions dominate us. They insulted us or plotted against us
or sabotaged a well-deserved achievement at work. But we injure ourselves more deeply and more
gravely by allowing our hearts and minds to darken. Our dharma is to be kind, pure, honest, giving,
sharing and caring. Others, due to ignorance, lack of understanding or due to the way in which their own
karmic drama is unfolding, may act with malice, deceit, selfishness and indifference. But we must not let
their actions or their ignorance deprive us of fulfilling our dharma. We must not allow ourselves to be
lowered by their ignorance, their habits or their greed. The darkness in their heart should not be allowed
to penetrate into the lightness of our hearts.