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SARDAR
AND THE GATHERING STORMS
TODAY
--
Usha Thakkar and Nagindas Sanghavi
Challenges
before Indian democracy today are tough, perhaps as tough
as those on the eve of our Independence. Intrigues of disruptive
forces and fear of political upheaval are formidable obstacles
today as they were then. After the initial period of assertion
of the principle of "We the People," Indian democracy
has been experiencing tensions arising from the struggle
for political equality against the background of social
hierarchy and from interface between the State and the emerging
ethnic and community identities. Plurality of opinions ensures
democratic functioning. It is important, however, to keep
the larger interests of the nation and people above all
narrow interests. While Indian democracy has provided space
to the downtrodden sections, it has also allowed communities
to be treated as vote banks. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's
life and work are of crucial importance in this context.
Sardar
had visualised a strong India, based on the principles of
equality, secularism and fundamental rights. Integration
of princely states into the Republic was made possible by
his political acumen and administrative skill. He was aware
of the adverse consequences of the caste system and opposed
to communal and separate electorates. His contribution to
the framing of Fundamental Rights, political safeguards
for minorities and impartial civil service was remarkable.
Sardar
Patel had immense faith in the people of India and their
ability to sail through rough weather. Today, our democracy
faces many challenges ranging from factionalism to fundamentalism,
from intolerance to violence, from selfish interests to
murky manoeuvrings, from social injustice to economic inequality.
It is in this context, that the Sardar and his sagacity
become relevant. His life and work continue to be great
sources of inspiration and hope today.
©
2007 IUP . All Rights Reserved.
AFFIRMATIVE
ACTION VS. RESERVATIONS IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR: THE UNITED
STATES AND INDIA
-- Theodore
P. Wright, Jr.
Some
opponents of extension of "reservations" in India
have voiced a preference for what in the United States is
called "Affirmative Action". Historical differences
in the two societies, one originating in slavery, the other
in castes, explain some of the varied policy preferences.
Americans tend to oppose quotas because they were used to
exclude Jews in the past. Quotas are rooted in Indian colonial
and post-colonial experience. The Gandhian era of the Indian
National Movement and American experience in fighting fascism
and later communism reduced the resistance of their respective
majorities (Hindu and white Christian) to give benefits
to the minorities. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 marked a
crucial shift from the negative policy of outlawing discrimination
to a positive one of actively increasing minority participation
in education and employment in America. Some American businessmen
actually aided affirmative action because it lowered wages
by increasing the pool of eligible qualified recruits. Affirmative
action applied in the United States to both public and private
employment from the beginning, while in India it provided
quotas only in the public sector until 2006 because of its
importance in a semi-socialised economy until 1991. Another
reason is the relatively large size of the informal sector
in India, to which quotas would not apply. Both countries
have experienced an expansion of various eligible categories,
which has stiffened resistance by those who are ascriptively
not eligible. Compassion fatigue has set in
both countries which leads to electoral pressures to undo
or terminate both kinds of programmes. Opponents point out
the injustice of continuing the benefits to the "creamy
layer" of the generally disadvantaged groups. Long
duration of such programmes also arouses opposition as they
become a vested interest. Since it is a less blatant "zero-sum-game",
affirmative action is more likely to persist and produce
the desired results.
©
2007 IUP . All Rights Reserved.
COUNTER-EVOLUTION
OF A NATIONAL MEDIA POLICY
--
S. P. K. Gupta
"NO
policy" had been the media policy of the Government
of India since Independence, except to protect the media
from external competition and mollycoddle them as the Fourth
Estate of the Establishment. The scene has changed with
the UPA government, after the Indian incarnation of the
International Herald-Tribune, allowing foreign newspaper
to print or publish facsimile editions in India as well
as foreign portfolio investment in Indian newspapers and
periodicals. The "Guidelines" governing the foreign
radio and TV broadcasters that have entered the Indian skies
hardly bring them within the purview of the Indian legal
system. All this has been done despite warnings from parliamentary
committees and despite reservations by the security establishment.
This certainly is a cause for alarm as news is no longer
regarded neutral but is value loaded ridden and is used
to state facts in a way that stimulates ideation and influences
behaviour. The issue is also of the prospect of globalisation
rendering the nation-state increasingly less important,
depriving people of an instrument of self-governance, and
constructing and disseminating social, economic and cultural
perceptions that facilitate greater influx of wealth into
the treasuries of the miniscule section already enriched
by globalisation. The new, virtually open-door policy blows
hot airs about codes and regulatory agencies but the alien
media, which have for long years sought to spread their
tentacles into India, can easily circumvent them. It contrasts
sharply with the media policy of the United States of America,
the archpriest of globalisation; which considers its national
security requires the banning of foreign ownership of American
television stations.
©
2007 IUP . All Rights Reserved.
INDIA'S
ENERGY SECURITY AND THE NUCLEAR OPTION
-- Dhandapani
Alagiri
Energy
security is one of the key challenges confronting the nation.
Even though India is the eleventh largest producer of energy
in the world, the gap between production and consumption
is huge and growing. Most of the deficit in the energy front
is due to the fact that India is a net importer of oil.
India continues to depend heavily on coal and hydel power
and coal will continue to remain as the most important energy
source for the foreseeable future. The recent global advances
in nuclear power generation enhanced the importance of nuclear
power in bridging the energy gap in India, especially in
the power sector. Nuclear energy is currently enjoying enormous
interest internationally, and particularly in India, due
to a combination of factors—such as increasing fuel
prices, diminishing resources of the fossil fuels, and environmental
problems. This article analyses India's nuclear programme
and discusses in detail the pros and cons of enhancing the
role of nuclear power for India's energy needs.
©
2007 IUP . All Rights Reserved.
Book
Review
REFORMING
THE UN: CHANGING NOTIONS OF SECURITY AND REALITIES OF POWER
Original
Title: Restructuring the United
Nations and Global Governance
-- Author: B. N. Mehrish Reviewed
by Manoj Kumar Mishra
The
world has witnessed quick transformations in the era of
increasing interactions among different nations. Admittedly,
most of the problems confronting mankind are global in nature.
The genesis of the United Nations (UN) lies in the need
to provide security to its member-states and thereby saving
the succeeding generations from the scourge of war. However,
over the decades nations learned that the role of economic
and social wing of the UN, which includes ECOSOC and different
specialised agencies like UNESCO, UNICEF, WHO and many others,
has become as important as that of the Security Council.
And not only that, there is need for all these organisations
to function in tandem as each major problem has multifaceted
dimensions. In the process, the concept of human security
transcended its traditional narrow militarist confines to
embrace literally all aspects of human life. As the definition
of security has changed, the requirement of a reformed and
restructured UN has become more germane. The book under
review tries to highlight the problems and prospects of
restructuring the world body so as to reflect the changed
ground realities over the six decades since the founding
of the UN.
©
2007 IUP holds the copyright for
the review. All Rights Reserved.
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