TIME and The Economist

Two popular magazines, TIME and The Economist have ushered in the new year by increasing their prices.

TIME is now Rs.150 per issue as against Rs.120 earlier, that is an increase of 25%. Its price has not been increased by this high percentage for any other country. In fact, the price in China remains the same at RMB 55. This is despite the fact that the Chinese currency has weakened more that the Indian Rupee last year.

The newsstand price of The Economist is up from Rs.220 to Rs.300, an increase of  36.36% Again, India bears the brunt. The price is not increased for any other country!

At a time when the Indian currency is more stable than other currencies, this is very surprising. Are the resident Indians getting penalised for evincing more interest in foreign magazines? These magazines are obviously charging what the traffic will bear. They have, correctly or otherwise, found that Indian readers were enjoying more consumers' surplus.

Pathankot attack: India's response

Defence Minister has said that India will respond at the time and place of its choice. This is needless bravado. India has the right to respond forcefully, but verbal assertion of this right is tactless and only gives room to the enemy / terrorists to blame India for any unconnected mishap in Pakistan. Bravado is not what we expect from the government now.

Terrorists entered a supposedly high-security airbase and killed Indian jawans. Government has to own responsibility for this negligence. We do not know what kind of damage the terrorists wanted to inflict. It is good that vital assets like airplanes were not damaged. Was it because we were tactful in our operational response or was it because the terrorists did not mean to damage them and their aim was something else? We may never know.

Jallikattu

The Central Government has now permitted Jallikattu subject of course to certain guidelines. There is ample empirical evidence that such guidelines are rarely implemented by the organisers of Jallikattu.

The Supreme Court in its enlightened judgment of May 7, 2014 had observed:

"Even the ancient culture and tradition do not support the conduct of Jallikattu or Bullock cart race, in the form in which they are being conducted at present. Welfare and the well-being of the bull is Tamil culture and tradition, they do not approve of infliction of any pain or suffering on the bulls, on the other hand, Tamil tradition and culture are to worship the bull and the bull is always considered as the vehicle of Lord Shiva. Yeru Thazhuvu, in Tamil tradition, is to embrace bulls and not over-powering the bull, to show
human bravery."

The judgment further said,

"As early as 1500-600 BC in Isha-Upanishads, it is professed as follows:
“The universe along with its creatures belongs to the land. No creature is superior to any other. Human beings should not be above nature. Let no one species encroach over the rights and privileges of other species.”

"Bulls cannot be used as a Performing Animals for Jallikattu and Bullock-cart Race, since they are
basically draught and pack animals, not anatomically designed for such performances."

"Parliament, it is expected, would elevate rights of animals to that of constitutional rights, as done by
many of the countries around the world, so as to protect their dignity and honour."

It is a pity that the Central Government has taken this decision not on merits, legal or ethical, but based on extraneous considerations. This being the month of Margazhi, anyone with even the remotest acquaintance with Andal's Thiruppavai would appreciate the respectful treatment extended to cattle by ancient Tamils. As the Supreme Court rightly proclaims, our cultural progress should make us migrate from anthropocentrism to ecocentrism.

The Pathankot puzzle

The terrorist attack on Pathankot airbase is a grim reminder of the dangerous security situation in the country. It is intriguing why the global media including BBC and The NewYork Times fight shy of calling it a terrorist attack.

A Superintendent of Police was thrashed by the terrorists in his own car and the car was hijacked. The government agencies did not act on this serious incident for well over six hours. During combing operations, a Lieutenant Colonel sustained fatal injuries when an explosive device exploded. These are inexplicable security lapses.

Would any other country tolerate such a brazen attack from its neighbour? We need someone like Indira Gandhi to lift us from this messy morass.

Fits India to a T

Sometimes some statements made about other countries may apply to India also, probably even more appropriately. The Economist of Dec.19th observes as under with respect to Ukraine:

"1) "Efforts to tackle corruption are going less well. No prominent figures from previous regimes have been jailed.

2) No one has cleaned up the murky but lucrative system for claiming value-added tax rebates on exports. 'Some people are still claiming refunds for exporting air,' says Mr.Fiala."

The first para explains itself. The government of MMS was seething in corruption. Yet no minister has been brought to justice.

The export bills scam in Bank of Baroda, Delhi is perfectly defined by the second para.

The same issue of the magazine, in a different context, quotes Peter Drucker: "No institution can possibly survive if it needs geniuses or supermen to manage it. It must be organised in such a way as to be able to get along under a leadership composed of average human beings." India as a nation does not seem to be organised in such a way. Can India survive?

BJP in a fix

Kirti Azad has set the cat among the pigeons by questioning the goings-on in the Delhi and District Cricket Association which was under Arun Jaitley's presidentship for a long time. True to his name, the erstwhile cricketer considers himself a free bird to criticise the minister and thereby enhance his fame. It is strange that a party that promised corruption-muft rule had to suspend a parliamentarian from itself for raising issues of probity.

Arun Jaitley caused Ram Jethmalani's resignation from the Vajpayee government. Jethmalani's memory is too sharp to forget this and he is too this-worldly to forgive Jaitley. Karma bounces back sooner or later. Subramanian Swamy knows only too well that Jaitley is a buffer around Narendra Modi and that the latter is not convinced unless the former is convinced. Jaitley is an odd amalgam of arrogance and friendliness. He maintains a professional (he is an advocate of no mean repute) self-righteous and all-knowing exterior even as he deliberately and perhaps purposefully abstains from going after the corrupt. Swamy is not known to have any consideration for those aborting his moves.

Narendra Modi, perhaps egged on by Jaitley, has contemptuously sidelined the Margdarshak Mandal seniors like L.K.Advani. Advani continues to be bitter that Modi usurped primeministership which the former thought was his historically. It may be obvious to the bystander that the BJP under Advani could not have romped home in the 2014 elections. It is too difficult for the passionately attached (to power) to see the obvious. So leaders like Advani seize every opportunity to embarrass Modi and his present cronies.

K.P.S.Gill has accused Jaitley of misuse of power as DDCA President to further his daughter's legal-professional interest. In these circumstances, it will be befitting if Jaitley resigns his ministership and upholds probity in public life. His stature will get enhanced if an impartial enquiry gives him a clean chit. Any enquiry while he continues to be a minister may not appear to be fair. Though there are no allegations that Jaitley misused power for gathering pelf for self, his inability to ensure probity in DDCA is a grave enough charge that requires Jaitley to establish exculpatory evidence. Exercise of self-denial of ministership till his innocence is firmly established is expected of him.

Modi may find it difficult to find a suitable successor to Jaitley as Finance Minister though some may argue that Jaitley was not a good choice after all as FM. Such existential compulsions should not deter Modi from proving that he is not one to tolerate any deviation from the straight and lonely path. Will Jaitley and Modi rise to the occasion?

It is true that Sonia Gandhi continues as Congress President despite the bunch of inculpatory evidences against her in the National Herald case. But is she worthy of emulation ?

Impeachment or intolerance?

Justice Pardiwala, a judge of the Gujarat High Court, says in one of his judgments,

“If I am asked by anyone to name two things which have destroyed this country or rather have not allowed the country to progress in the right direction, then the same is, (i) Reservation and (ii) Corruption. It is very shameful for any citizen of this country to ask for reservation after 65 years of Independence. When our Constitution was framed, it was understood that reservation would remain for a period of 10 years, but unfortunately, it has continued even after 65 years of Independence.” 

This has stoked a huge controversy in the Rajya Sabha with many elders seeking impeachment of the judge. The judge subsequently withdrew this para from his judgment saying that this para was not essential for the decision in the judgment. The judge has obviously acted under coercion. Who would like to be impeached?

This behaviour of parliamentarians reeks of intolerance. Under the garb of concern for the underprivileged, our political leaders have only been feathering their own nests.

The judge had also pointed out “countrymen should rise and fight against corruption at all levels, rather than shedding blood and indulging in violence for reservation. Reservation has only played the role of an amoeboid monster sowing seeds of discord amongst the people.”

Has the judge exceeded his remit by uttering the truth?