10

TheIndian EXPRESS
www.indianexpress.com

l MONDAY l OCTOBER 1 l 2012

The Indian EXPRESS

BECAUSE THE TRUTH INVOLVES US ALL

HE range of fiscal deficit numbers projected by Vijay Kelkar from the noreform scenario of 6.1 per cent of the GDP to 5.2 per cent with reform will make it easier to map the Centres moves on reforms this year. Since Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has reiterated that he intends to stay the course, the benefit of the Kelkar standard is that it sets the stage for the PMs words to be measured against his actions. For the moment, however, attention has focused on the sharp cuts the committees road map for fiscal consolidation has recommended in petro subsidies. While the finance ministry has moved in quickly with reassuring noises, it is worth pointing out that both Kelkar and Sanjiv Misra, also on the panel, have served a long innings in the ministry; they are well aware of the constraints posed by governance. Their recommendations should then serve as an opportunity to revisit the burdens on the economy, sooner rather than later. At 2.2 per cent of the GDP, as Kelkar projects, the cost is Rs 1,80,000 crore this year from the oil subsidy more than the plan expenditure for all social sectors combined. While there are reasons for a government that needs to keep an eye on allies, and is not so sure-

The panels suggestions should make the government revisit the drags on the economy
footed in the numbers game, to defer the price hike till later, as Kelkar points out, delays will make the consequences and pain even worse (with) consequences for much slower growth, rising unemployment, and higher inflation. Since government-mandated reports are usually economical with words, this is disconcerting stuff. Essentially, the report has made clear that the government needs to engage in a comprehensive dialogue with the people on the challenges ahead. This will be necessary even to work on other expenditure measures, including the suggested cuts in the plan budget. The implications of the cuts, while protecting the programmes for the most vulnerable, have to be made clear and that is best done by taking on more reforms like imposing marketlinked rates of interest on delayed payment of taxes, especially advance tax. Some of the other reforms, like the changes in the Direct Tax Code and changing of indirect tax rates to harmonise them with GST, are already in the works. Since the Kelkar package relies little on new legislation, it gives the government the chance to show that, even in the present circumstances, it can deliver the goods for the economy.

The Kelkar test

ELANGANA tensions returned to Hyderabad, as thousands of protestors marched to the state capital on Sunday, clashing with the police. The Kiran Kumar Reddy government looked riven, and ministers from the region planned their strategy, visibly conflicted as they chose which side of the barricades they would be on. The agitation for a separate Telangana is not a simple assertion of difference and independence. As a region that sees itself as historically held back, economically disadvantaged and culturally denigrated, it is also a demand for a better future. Instead of responding to the range of grievances that the movement represented, the Congress saw it as a problem to be sorted out with maximum political advantage to itself. It has not only taken a purely instrumental approach to Telangana, it has done so with remarkable clumsiness. In 2009, it rashly promised a separate state, because it could not find another way to respond to the Telangana Rashtra Samithis hunger strike. Then, daunted by the conflicting surges of hope and resistance it has set off in Andhra

The Congress must negotiate a solution to Telangana, instead of trying to put a lid on it
Pradesh, the Centre sat back for a couple of years, waiting for the Srikrishna committee to analyse the matter with greater rigour. The committee recommended keeping the state intact, but focusing on special developmental redress for Telangana. With its protracted wavering over the last few years, the Congress has aggravated schisms that have existed almost as long as the current state of Andhra Pradesh if Telangana can have its own address, what is to stop Rayalaseema from wanting the same, and coastal Andhra? What happens to Hyderabad, physically attached to the Telangana hinterland but also a magnet for more diverse aspirations? The Congresss strategy has been to stall and wait out the agitation, rather than resolve it. The fractures within the leadership of the Telangana movement may have helped, as well as the fact that other political formations in Andhra Pradesh are still working out their own calculations. It must realise, however, that state reorganisation must follow credible, objective criteria, rather than being driven by blackmail and capitulation, or narrow electoral ends.

Divided it stands

HE Supreme Court has expressed its opinion on a reference of the president under Article 143(1) of the Constitution of India. The courts opinion was sought on eight different questions. Most of these questions arose from the observations and directions of the court in the 2G spectrum case wherein the court had mandated that whenever a contract is to be awarded, a licence is to be given or any largesse is to be distributed, the public authority must adopt a transparent and fair method to make the selection so that all eligible persons get a fair opportunity. The court further mandated that when it came to allocation of the scarce natural resources like spectrum, the state must ensure that a non-discriminatory method is adopted for allocation. The court opined that a duly publicised auction, conducted fairly, is the best available method for distributing natural resources. Policies like first-come-first served whenever used are likely to be misused by private parties for maximising benefits. The court imposed a duty on the government to adopt the method of auction by giving wide publicity for such alienation. The presidential reference sought the opinion of the court on eight questions. The court has expressed two opinions one on behalf of four judges and authored by Justice D.K. Jain, which has been referred to as the main opinion and the other a broadly concurring opinion authored by Justice J.S. Khehar. The main opinion confines itself to the question of whether auctions are the only method of disposal of natural resources (paragraph 150). It chose not to answer the other questions raised, including some other sub-questions that relate to the allocation of 2G spectrum. The court decided not to interfere with the spectrum judgment in view of the concession made by the government itself. The evolution of the right to equality in India underwent a transformation in 1974 when the Supreme Court, in E.P. Royappa v. State of Tamil Nadu, decided to liberate Article 14 from the limited cribbed, cabined and confined limits of equality. The Supreme Court observed From a positivistic point of view, equality is antithetic to ar-

Drawing a fine line

The government misreads the courts opinion on the 2G case as a victory
ARUN JAITLEY
bitrariness. In fact, equality and arbitrariness are sworn enemies; one belongs to the rule of law in a republic while the other to the whim and caprice of an absolute monarch. Where an act is arbitrary it is implicit in it that it is unequal, both according to political logic and constitutional law, and therefore violative of Article 14. On behalf of my party, the Bharatiya Janata Party, I had, on August 26, 2012, commented in an article on the party website, on the coal block allocations and the reference pending before the court: The whole process of allocation of coal blocks stinks. This raises a larger question of how the Indian state should allocate natural resources. A rudderless government suffering from polwere to advise the formulation of such an arbitrary policy? The main opinion of the court has held in paragraph 148 and 149 as under: 148. In our opinion, auction despite being a more preferable method of alienation/allotment of natural resources, cannot be held to be a constitutional requirement or limitation for alienation of all natural resources and therefore, every method other than auction cannot be struck down as ultra vires the constitutional mandate. 149. Regard being had to the aforesaid precepts, we have opined that such auction as a mode cannot be conferred the status of a constitutional principle. Alienation of natural resources is a policy decision, and the means adopted for the same utive action as arbitrary, unfair, unreasonable and capricious due to its antimony with Article 14 of the Constitution. The ratio and meaning of the opinion as understood is as follows: There is no constitutional requirement that auction is the only methodology of allocating resources. If allocation is made to individuals for commercial exploitation, auction and maximisation of revenue is the rule. Deviation from the rule of auction and revenue maximisation is possible only when there is a social or welfare purpose. Even when there is a social or welfare purpose, the allocation can be made on the basis of stringent guidelines and the same is required to be tested on a case-to-case basis. Some ministers have hailed this opinion on a question of law as the governments victory against the CAG who had severely indicted the government in the 2G spectrum and coal block allocations. Were not both these allocations entirely for a commercial purpose? Did the government not follow a pickand-choose policy and cause huge loss of revenue? The concurring opinion of Justice Khehar further restricts the discretions for the social and welfare allocations that are made through a procedure other than auction. The opinion realises the danger of the allocation on a caseto-case basis transforming to a suitcase-to-suitcase basis. Justice Khehar advises a clear, transparent and objective criteria or procedure which furthers public interest, public good and public purpose. A public authority is ordained to act reasonably and fairly. The judge deals with a possible allocation of coal. After analysing the current provisions, he categorically opines that no process other than auction can therefore be adopted for the grant of coal mining lease. The Supreme Courts opinion has incorporated the principles of fairness as antithetical to arbitrariness in the allocation of natural resources. This opinion is contrary to what the government did in the 2G spectrum and coal block allocations. Yet some ministers call it a victory of the government. The writer is leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha
express@expressindia.com

LETTER OF THE WEEK AWARD

To encourage quality reader intervention The Indian Express offers the Letter of the Week Award. The letter adjudged the best for the week is published every Saturday. Letters may be e-mailed to editpage @expressindia.com or sent to The Indian Express, 9&10, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi -110002. Letter writers should mention their postal address and phone number. The winner receives books worth Rs 1,000.

Letters to the

EDITOR

Discordant notes
APROPOS A duet of disharmony (IE, September 28), Lata Mangeshkars claim that Mohammad Rafi apologised to her after the two singers had had a very public spat is truly disharmonious. Making unverifiable statements about Rafi perhaps ones that he would have objected to had he been alive is bound to damage Mangeshkars image. However, Rafis son is taking things too far by talking of legal action against her. Afroz Jamal New Delhi THIS refers to Mohammed Rafis son mulls legal action against Lata Mangeshkar (IE, September 26). Shahid Rafi rightly pointed out that his father was a gentle and kind person with a huge fan following. Lata Mangeshkar undoubtedly has a melodious voice but a more controversial reputation. Her opposition to the construction of a flyover on Mumbais Pedder Road, for instance, had made headlines earlier. Robin Marshal Pune

The concurring opinion of Justice Khehar further restricts the discretions for the social and welfare allocations that are made through a procedure other than auction. The opinion realises the danger of the allocation on a case-to-case basis transforming to a suitcase-to-suitcase basis. Justice Khehar advises a clear, transparent and objective criteria or procedure which furthers public interest, public good and public purpose.
icy paralysis has sought advisory opinion of the Supreme Court on this larger question. Allocation of natural resources is an issue squarely within the policy domain. Formulation of policy is an executive function; it is not a judicial function. The court can merely strike down a policy if it is arbitrary or unconstitutional. The court cannot frame a policy. Which tangible natural resources should be auctioned and which could be allotted on some alternative fair criteria is an issue to be decided by the government. The courts are an institution empowered to judicially review a decision of the government. If government formulates a policy that opens the floodgates for corruption, the courts can strike down the policy. What would happen if the courts are thus, executive prerogatives. However, when such a policy decision is not backed by a social or a welfare purpose, and precious and scarce natural resources are alienated for commercial pursuits of profit maximising private entrepreneurs, adoption of means other than those that are competitive and maximise revenue may be arbitrary and face the wrath of Article 14 of the Constitution. Hence, rather than prescribing or proscribing a method, we believe, a judicial scrutiny of methods of disposal of natural resources should depend on the facts and circumstances of each case, in consonance with the principles which we have culled out above. Failing which, the Court, in exercise of power of judicial review, shall term the exec-

Tough calls

THIS refers to the editorial Govern or go (IE, September 27). The resignation of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has raised many issues. The editorial rightly notes that the Congress-NCP war must not be allowed to continue. Perhaps fresh elections will bring in muchneeded stability to the state. Shishir Sindekar Nasik

CHRISTOPHE JAFFRELOT
HE Sachar Commission Report compared the situation of Muslims of India at the state level, but the next step is to disaggregate a community that has often been considered a homogenous whole. In the volume Muslims in Indian Cities, which I coedited with Laurent Gayer, we offer a dozen local case studies. We analyse the socio-economic condition of the Muslims in 11 cities and examine how their neighbourhoods are structured and how they relate to the rest of Ahmedabad, Aligarh, Bangalore, Bhopal, Calicut, Cuttack, Delhi, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Lucknow and Mumbai. National statistics show that Muslims are over-represented in towns and cities: 35.7 per cent of them lived in urban areas, while the urbanisation rate was only 28 per cent on average in 2001, according to the census. This harks back to the Muslim origin of many Indian cities as their very names suggest, Ahmedabad, Ahmednagar, Aligarh, Allahabad, Aurangabad, Hyderabad, etc. But statistics also say that Muslims are over-represented among the poor: 37 per cent of the urban Muslims live below the poverty line, against 27 per cent of the rural Muslims against, respectively, 22 and 28 per cent of Hindus. Why? Because, according to the Sachar Committee report, 8 per cent of urban Muslims are part of the formal sector whereas the national average is 21 per cent for Indian city and town dwellers. These aggregates conceal a wide range of trajectories. In the cities that were capitals of princely states, like Bhopal and

Past the Muslim monolith

What, exactly, unites Indian Muslims and what divides them?
lifestyle, food habits, etc, are not affected by the others. Second, in western and northern India, communal violence, unprecedented between the late 1980s and 2002, has led Muslims to leave the pockets where they were living next to the Other, and seek safe havens. This process has sometimes taken the form of ghettoisation. In our book, we use the word ghetto that has acquired a loose meaning in common parlance in a very specific manner to designate a place (1) where members of a community gather together irrespective of their class, for safety, (2) where the state has withdrawn and (3) which is badly connected to the rest of the city. Juhapura, at the Hyderabad, decline started at the time of Partition and even more after the merger with the Indian Union, which deprived the local Muslim minorities of their old privileges. In eastern and southern cities where communalism has been less pronounced, socioeconomic standards remained better (partly because of the Gulf connection, sometimes) and urban patterns were overdetermined more by class and caste than by religion. The nostalgia for the composite culture of the Indian city, expressed with formulas such as mili juli, mushtarka, ganga-jamna tahzib, etc, is often misplaced because Indian cities have always been structured along ethnic the cities under review, caste and class over-determine the range of social networks. And sometimes, sectarian affiliations make things even more complicated. Bhoras and Khojas in the West and Shias and Sunnis in Lucknow will not relate to each others as co-religionists, far from it. Politicians sometimes form a class of exploiters in themselves. In many of the cities under review, Muslims dominated assembly constituencies, making them safe seats for Muslims candidates. Few of them mostly nominated by the Congress have addressed problems of development, including education, during the election campaigns. They preferred to surf on identity issues, like the management of the Waqf properties. These problems are less difficult to solve, and so long as the local Muslims are in a precarious socio-economic situation, they are bound to need saviours and form votebanks. This state of affairs, along with the fact that they have not found many jobs in the PSUs and the administration, partly explains why many middle-class Muslims members told us that they expected some improvement of their situation from the withdrawal of the state. Whether they will benefit from a more marketoriented economy remains to be seen. Jaffrelot, co-editor of Muslims in Indian Cities, is a senior research fellow at CERI, Sciences Po, Paris and professor of Indian politics and society at the Kings India Institute, London
express@expressindia.com

The just way

or once the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) can be spared the customary brickbats. In fact, it might even deserve a pat on the back for raising the bar in choosing the national selectors and not succumbing to narrow-minded regional pressures. With the BCCI hiking the selectors annual pay package from Rs 40 lakh to Rs 60 lakh, close to 20 candidates pushed very hard to be on the five-member committee. In the end, though, the low-key heavyweights outran the undeserving networkers. The panel, consisting of Sandeep Patil, Roger Binny, Vikram Rathour, Saba Karim and Rajinder Singh Hans, has more experience and expertise than the previous panel headed by Kris Srikkanth. Patil and Binny, both World Cup winners, have represented India with great distinction. Rathour and Karim too played a handful of Tests

BCCI picks selectors through a process that is fair and is seen to be so too
and ODIs in the 1990s. And despite being the only one without international experience, Hans has coached underdogs Uttar Pradesh for the Ranji title. Four of the members have coached domestic teams with Patil having been in charge of both India and Kenya in the past. Karim has been selector for Bihar. Besides refusing to buckle under pressure, the BCCI also managed to hold the cards close to its chest till the last moment a rare achievement for a body known to strenuously leak information. The zonal system to pick selection committees has for long been riddled with allegations of bias and conspiracy. In BCCI president N. Srinivasans words, the need for zonal representatives this time had to do with the geography of India and not with any clandestine policy of appeasement. Looking at the five good men the boards roped in, its difficult to disagree with him.

Five good men

IN WHAT may have come as a major relief to the UPA, the Supreme Court said that auction is not the only way to allot natural resources. However, it could be the best option where the aim is maximisation of revenue (Auction not the only method to allot natural resources: SC, IE, September 28). But a vacuum in governance cannot be filled by the Supreme Court. Shafali Sharma Ludhiana

What dread hand

Politicians tend to focus on identity issues, which are less difficult to solve. And as long as the local Muslims are in a precarious socio-economic situation, they are bound to need 'saviours' and form votebanks.
lines. However, it still makes sense because many old/walled cities were like mosaics with a lane dominated by a single caste or community was adjacent to those dominated by others. This pattern is eroding for two reasons. First, religious groups tend to promote homogeneity and, therefore, (self-)segregation. Which means that members of a given community prefer to live with each other and exclude the Other from their neighbourhood. They do not want to be minorities in localities and be exposed to the influence of another religion or have their children exposed to this influence. Nor do they wish to have members of the other community in their midst, so that their periphery of Ahmedabad, is a case in point, with its 4 lakh-plus inhabitants. After the 2002 pogrom which affected Muslim pockets (including middle class ones, see Gulberg Society), rich Muslims moved in there as well. This has been something of a blessing in disguise for the locals since the newcomers have started to develop the place, including in terms of education, which rich and poor long for. Other Muslim slums have not benefited from this inflow. In Aligarh, the class and caste divide between Sir Syed Nagar and Shah Mahal forms an invisible wall. In fact, the Muslim community, when it does not have to cope with an existential threat, is no less divided than any other. In most of

THE editorial Where tourists dare (IE, September 28) rightly concludes that tourism did not bring down the tiger population, poaching did. Poaching can be eliminated only if it is treated as seriously as murder and punishment is given accordingly. Unless this is done, the last tiger in India will fall to poaching. Dara Gandhy Mumbai THIS refers to `The long goodbye (IE, September 28). There can be no final goodbye to the Harry Potter series, not for his millions of fans. J.K. Rowling is back with a dark comedy and her fan following will make sure people rush to the bookstores to buy it. Many will buy the book just because it is a new Rowling and some will buy it in the hope of catching a glimpse of the world of magic she had created in her seven-part series. But The Casual Vacancy will have to depend on no other magic than the authors spell of words. Jagriti Thakur Shimla

Under a spell

WORDLY WISE
Jane Austen

We do not look in our great cities for our best morality.