Restaurants vis-à-vis health

Sarvesh Kumar Tiwari

The Dalai Lama, when asked what surprised him most about humanity, answered “Man, because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived.”

The above quote of His Holiness the Dalai Lama represents the true picture of our society today. The way of life has changed drastically since the rapid industrialization of the world post1950’s. These days a man has to deal with preservatives from the very beginning. Breast-feeding is giving way to various sorts of condensed milk and then there are various baby foods which are pushed down the baby’s throat by busy parents who don’t want to spend their precious time in mashing a wholegrain food cooked at home. The mention of the phrase food ‘cooked at home’ reminds me of a lady instructor I had while I was undertaking a diploma programme. ‘’She must be in her early 30’s and had a son who was 3 years old. Our classes used to start in the evening at around 7:30 and were generally over by 9:30. I did not notice it in the beginning but after some days a batch mate drew my attention towards the fact that every day at around quarter to nine her husband called and inquired regarding dinner. It was surprising to find out that eight out of ten times she would name a restaurant from where they could have their dinner. Only on Thursdays and on some other random day she would say that she had cooked at home or would ask him to prepare some lentils and vegetable and that she would roll out Rotis when she would return home. Some of us used to ponder over the plight of the child while the others joked about the ever increasing diameter of her waist.”

The above story is not a unique instance rather one can find similar circumstances in many households. Working couples often rely on restaurants for their meals. The food served by most of the restaurants are spicy, oily and such that the nutritional value which is the defining factor of food  is on the fringes. The system of regular inspection is in place but one hardly finds any instance in which a restaurant has been closed because of not adhering to the food safety rules. Thanks to the online rating mechanisms initiated by various online agencies and the food surveys conducted by various magazines that some restaurants tend to follow standard procedure or else we would have had no choices. Can there be a way by which healthy food could be procured from restaurants. Restaurants or any FMCG industry makes a lot of profit and if the government makes it compulsory for the restaurants to keep a few healthy food on their menu it won’t hamper their interest. It should be followed with more conviction at market places which are near schools and colleges. The government should impose a ban on fast food products in school canteens. Educative campaigns should be initiated by the Health ministry asking parents to avoid introducing children to fast food items. Children should be initiated into using indigenous food items at an early age so that they develop a taste and habit for those products which somehow or the other are healthier in comparison.

As if these problems are not enough, a friend of mine recounted a harrowing experience at a vegetable market in Delhi. He told me that, “I went to the market to buy vegetables very late that day and was surprised to see that the vendor was not throwing away the rotten tomatoes and so were the others, I jokingly asked whether he planned to use them. He smiled at me and told me that the restaurants queue up to buy those. I smiled in disbelief but then suddenly I saw the waiter of a restaurant where I visited frequently buying the rotten tomatoes from the nearby vendor”.

Food safety is an issue which has drawn attention of the masses ever since the Maggi fiasco but we need to investigate the other dormant issues like those discussed above if we want our next generation to be healthy.

“शरीरमाद्यम खलु धर्म साधनः”

I conclude the article with this Sanskrit couplet which highlights the importance given to health in ancient Indian philosophy. It says health is a must and one should not try to undertake arduous tasks which may affect his health and should keep his dietary habits in check.

Sarvesh Kumar Tiwari is Socio-cultural Writer

Courtesy : www.wisdomblow.com

"Politicians should avoid “business-stroke"

Dr. P Pullarao

Andhra Chief Minister   Chandra Babu Naidu,  Foreign Minister  Sushma Swaraj and  Rajasthan Chief  Minister Vasudnhara Raje all are suffering  from the same illness  ““ business-stroke “right now .

Sushma Swaraj  and Rajasthan Chief Minister’s careers  might be finished  if further revelations  come out from  businessman Lalit Modi. If Lalit Modi makes some more revelations, then both will go.

Chandra Babu Naidu is surrounded  by businessmen. There is nothing wrong with that. But  Babu should not  listen to their  advice and make them his closest aides. The problem with businessmen  is that they do not understand politics .. They simply feel that everything has a price.   But when you are dealing with people, price cannot be fixed.

The allegations against Chandra Babu Naidu about vote-buying would never have happened had he kept recently rich businessmen at a   little distance.  Sure, give them tickets to Parliament or the Assembly. But keep them at a distance.

Sushma Swaraj, Chandra Babu and Vasundhara Raje have definitely not read one of the stories by greatest English novels F. Scott Fitzgerald “ the Rich Boy  “.  Scott Fitzgerald famously  wrote

“ Let me tell you about the rich . They are different form you and me .They possess and enjoy early and it does something to them. It make them cynical while we are trustful. They think they are  better than we are .”

Lalit Modi is wealthy and he spends money . Naturally, SushmaSwaraj and VasundharaRaje were dazzled by the money spent. They enjoyed every bit of it. Lalit Modi did not spend money on them because he was a charitable person. He had his own objectives.

Similarly, Chandra Babu Naidu is surrounded by the rich as other   Andhra politicians earlier. They love the feel of wealth and when near wealth, they felt terrific. Remember that most politicians come from very humble backgrounds and when they see’ Lakshmi “, they get transported  to another world.

How did the businessmen earn their wealth?  That question does not arise.  The simple   answer is that he is rich and so must be intelligent. Since he is so generous, he is a nice person. Politicians in India lose office or go to jail only because of “business-stroke “. By having taken money or favours, the politicians cannot reject the rich donor….or he will be exposed.  That is what is happening to SushmaSwaraj and Vasundhara Raje.

Politicians forget some basic principles of politics .Elected representatives should serve as a bridge between people and government. But business tycoons, once elected, feel they need not associate with the public. Further, they feel they spent much money and won office. They realise that they will have to spend money again and why waste time when the voters have to be bought again ?

A number of MPs from  all parties  got tickets only because of their money   .  There is a political gap since they are not connected to people. This political gap eventually leads to defeats and scandals.

One of the richest people is   Savithri Jindal who was a Minister in Haryana. In her constituency, at least 35,000 people work for her.   Yet Jindal lost and came third in the election. People eventually get fed up and defeat the rich.

Politicians should realise that most scandals start with business people turned politicians . For businessmen, getting anything done through any means is okay. They are used to this philosophy of “gettingthingsdone by money “.  Usually, they follow a legal route. But when they become associated with politicians, they start trying to subvert the system and get an additional advantage by using money and politicians.

In most cases, no one ever gets caught. It is only when there is an aggrieved party that things come out in the open. In most scandals there is at least one dis-satisfied and angry participant.  Even in the Lalit  Modi case, from newsreports it isobvious that he was personally angry with the Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje.  Here one of the main actors ( Lalit  Modi ) in this  scandal-drama himself  spills   out secrets. Eventually, whatever happens toVasundharaRaje and SushmaSwaraj is difficult to predict. But surely, Lalit Modi hashimself signed his o wn arrest warrant.

This is also a warning to politicians that at some crucial stage a businessmen will cooperate with the  authorities to save his skin and he will be in trouble.

Politicians feel that money is needed for elections. Aside from elections, most of the money form business people goes into the private bank accounts and wealth of politicians .  It is  an easy way to earn money.  Corrupt politicians feel that they are giving a  gift of a Parliament seat . Why should they give it free? That is when the business folk come in.

Once a seat is sold to a rich man, then the eco-system around that politician starts to get corrupted and eventual downfall. Of course there are many clever politicians who have sold seats and yet survived. But now and then they get caught and they can never recover.

But the greatest punishment for a politician who fraternities with rich people  and gives s them seats in Parliament and legislatures is that their political party eventually gets destroyed. That happens slowly but surely. Take very intelligent politicians like Sharad Pawar. His party the NCP has stagnated. Thera are just too many rich people in his party.

A politician should  avoid  becoming close to any rich person. What F. Scott Fitzgerald said nearly a 100 years ago on the rich   is true today ….” The rich are not like you and me. They are different “.

Dr P Pulla Rao is a Socio-political and Economic analyst

Courtesy : www.wisdomblow.com

Sushma Swaraj : No secrets in this age

Dr. P Pullarao
Sushma Swaraj has been doing an excellent job as the Indian Foreign Minister. Despite initial discord with  Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Sushma  Swaraj has handled herself very well and ensured that she played a perfect role as Foreign Minister. She took to the job as a fish takes to water. She ensured that there were no problems with the PM and yet conducted herself  with great aplomb.

Narendra Modi has earned great praise for the conduct of foreign relations.  A good measure of this credit should go to Sushma Swaraj. Moreover Sushma maintained  excellent relations with the Opposition, particularly the Congress party. It was no secret that the Congress would have preferred L.K.Advani or Sushma Swaraj as Prime Minister rather than Narendra  Modi. It was well known that Sushma Swaraj maintained cordial relations with Sonia Gandhi.

Yet the recent political controversy about the alleged close  relations of Sushma Swaraj with Ex-Indian cricket boss Lalit Modi has led to the demand by Congress for the resignation and even a Supreme Court inquiry into the doings of Sushma Swaraj and misuse of office .  So much for maintaining good relations  with your opponent !   A good lesson for Sushma Swaraj.

Sushma Swaraj seems to have forgotten that there are no secrets in the world today. Greater  and mightier people than her like Sepp Blatter, the President  of FIFA  ( World Football association ) had to resign because secrets tumbled out due to emails, phone calls and the very easy ability to record conversations and then later retrieve them.  Sushma ji…there are no secrets.

Sushma Swaraj had obviously close relations with Lalit Modi. Both belong to Delhi. There is nothing wrong with that. There is also nothing wrong  that Sushma Swaraj’s daughter is doing legal work for Lalit Modi, since she seems to be a well  qualified lawyer. One of the qualification for a lawyer or any service  provider is good contacts and Sushma’ s daughter has everything. A lot of wrong doing is accepted in India .  It is only when politicians choose to point it out selectively that trouble begins.

Sushma Swaraj never imagined that the emails of an MP Keith Vaz in England to Lalit Modi and others would create enormous trouble for her and might cost her job and future too. Sushma might never have imagined that casual meetings in London would look shady and ominous.  Sushma would never also have imagined that the legal practice of her daughter would smear her.  Sushma would never   have imagined that her less visible husband would also create image problems for her.

It is not for me to comment whether there was any wrong doing. But the media had portrayed her actions as  wrong . Who can imagine that the distant emails of a British M.P. Keith Vaz  become a political danger for Sushma Swaraj ?  Strangely, Keith Vaz is a long time British  MP, who should know every well how  British tabloids chase scandal and wrong doing and get great glee in exposing them. Yet, Keith Vaz sent emails as if they were inaccessible . Keith Vaz mentioned the name of Sushma Swaraj and that has created a major scandal. Sushma Swaraj was foolish enough to think that secrets can be kept  by anyone.

Strangely , nearly a decade ago,  another  very smart Foreign Minister  Natwar Singh got into similar trouble and had to resign.  Natwar Singh had written a letter  to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein requesting that a quantity of oil  be released for the company that his son had an interest in. Natwar Singh never dreamt that this letter of his would be safe in  the archives of the Iraqi  Foreign Ministry and when the Americans invaded Iraq, it would be found. Along with millions of other documents , the Americans released them.  Natwar Singh had to resign in a blaze of controversy and his political  career ended.

The wise and clever Natwar Singh thought that such letters would be lost. He never imagined that the  Iraqi Foreign  Ministry was so stupid that they never destroyed  their secrets. The chances of Natwar Singh’s letter to Iraqi President. Saddam Hussein  would be found by an invading  USA army was perhaps a million to one. Yet that happened.

Sushma Swaraj never imagined that her meetings In a hotel allegedly with Lalit Modi would  be recorded and noticed. But they were recorded by the ubiquitous CCTV cameras and records kept by the hotel.

The danger for Sushma Swaraj is that more information  might come tumbling out. As it is, Sushma has now lost her political  clout. She had to be defended by the party and the government. She have now become the cynosure of the media and opponents. It is a great lesson to all politicians that they  must avoid any wrong or seeming wrongs at any time. If they occupy a future high office , then they are liable to blackmail .

Any phone conversation, any meeting or even a simple  conversation can come and haunt you.
The next few days will determine whether  Sushma Sharma will pay the same price that Natwar Singh paid by resignation or she will sail through this storm. In any event, there are no secrets in this age or there is no safe place to hide secrets. The best policy might be to operate in such a way that there are   no secrets. New skills have to be developed to meet the new challenges of the ” Age of no secrets “.

Dr P Pulla Rao is a Socio-political and Economic analyst

Courtesy : www.wisdomblow.com

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Resurrection of Congress

By Anand

As the county watches the Modi spectacle unfold with wanton glee laden with expectation for, the already proverbial ‘Achchhe Din’, tiny but promising rumblings in the congress went unnoticed..

Though Rahul has failed to capture youth imagination, the spark cannot be ignored .Actually, when things are so bad even small gestures bring smiles may be that is why it is heartening to see RG hands on and focused and attempting. Though seriously lacking as the head of a mammoth party, he has managed to bring Congress from nadir to visibility. RG’s relentless tour and late attempt to touch base with people is better than never. But he has to break mould, come out of the cocoon and desperately get contemporary advice.

Fact is, we are still talking about him and the Congress and we can see scores of people for whom election is synonymous with the ‘hand’ symbol. Even today in this day and age of information It would not be surprising to find people who still do not know that the congress has been washed away. All this proves that despite the drubbing, Congress and ‘Gandhi ‘ remain relevant. He just needs to build on this but also understandthat the dynamics have changed. It no longer is Roti, kapda and makaan.

But more surprising is that Congress is yet to home in on the real Modi plot. Mr. Modi like all his colleagues in the Sangh has exhibited the primordial hunger to regain for India all her lost glory.

By imparting importance to erstwhile mundane subjects like clean surroundings and toilets he has ask Indians to look at themselves before finding faults with govts. Modi knows that in the world capitals Indians do not command respect a la` American and Modi strongly believes, I suspect, that America is just a circumstantial super power and not the deserving one. In Modi’s mind much like the average ‘Sanghi’ only India deserves to be in the position of pivot of the world pecking order. Mr Modi has changed the discourse from Roti, Kapda, Makaan to various aspects of higher living. He has shown a new end. Could be a pipe dream, but Indians are for now smoking on it big time. They are beginning to reinvent themselves. The average person on the street is no longer shy. He is beginning to be proud of being Indian.
All this bodes well for Indians.

However general feeling is that Congress dissuaded Indians from exerting themselves.The govt. policy for past 60 years has been to welcome aggressive people to India but NEVER did they support aggressive Indian businessmen to expand beyond India.

We do not know what the congressmen thought, but they never instilled confidence to the global go getter. That is the shell Rahul needs to break out of. He needs to believe that Indians can.

He needs to talk of his vision for India. He must device a roadmap to an India much better that what Namo is promising.

C Anand Velayudhan is  Special correspondent – India for an American Television Channel ‘

blissanand@rediffmail.com

(Views expressed are his own)

Courtesy : www.wisdomblow.com

Will Nitish Kumar retain the top post in Bihar?

Shahnawaz Alam

Both Lalu and Nitish were exposed against Modi wave in general elections held last year. Nitish severed 17 years old alliance for his apprehensions against Modi’s annoitment for the top job at centre. Apparently, he had to face a big jolt having reduced to only two seats from 20 seats in 2009.

All his calculations went against him. He tactically deputed a Mahadalit leader Jitan Ram Manjhi as his successor in order to consolidate almost 14% of dalit and mahadalit vote bank. He had to face another debacle soon after he paved way for Manjhi. Growing proximity between Manjhi and BJP’s central leadership caused frustration for Kumar. As soon as Kumar assumed his new role to work for organization, Manjhi had already started defying his key executive decisions. Nitish decided to topple Manjhi and scrapped some of his key decisions. On the hand other veteran socialist leader Lalu Prasad Yadav decided to extend support to JDU in order to ensure no president rule in the state after Manjhi was expelled with his supporters from JDU. Over the time Manjhi has consolidated his loyalty towards his political maste, BJP. Another rebellion, Pappu Yadav recently floated his own party after being expelled from RJD on the charges of anti party activities. Some highly placed sources establish Pappu’s proximity with BJP too. Likewise many other parties have been floated locally and almost all of them are working to stop Nitish-Lalu duo in Bihar. BJP insiders revealed that the same Maharashtra Model might also be exercised in Bihar.

It is clearly evident that Dalit and Mahadalit voters have gradually shifted their loyalty towards Manjhi from Ramvilas Paswan. However, there no clear consensus inside BJP over leadership. It is clearly evident that Sushil Modi is not an unanimously accepted face in BJP for Bihar assembly elections. If we look into public welfare strategies and decisions, hardy there is anything significant in its bag to appeal among Bihari voters. BJP has not offered anything substantial as of now for Bihar in order to uplift it’s poor human indexes, dilapidated state of healthcare and education system.

BJP is fully dependent on its social engineering whereas people of Bihar are satisfied with development programs under Nitish rule. But, it will be interesting to see how people perceive Nitish Kumar with his new partner Lalu Prasad. In the history of Bihar Lalu is one such leader who reignited socialist movement. To a large extent Lalu succeeded in giving voice to the marginalized classes. But, his party disintegrated due to a few mistakes. One such mistake was choosing incompetent Rabri for the top job as Lalu’s successor. It’s time for him to acknowledge his mistakes publicly. However, he seems to have overshadowed his all such trivial mistakes which were represented more that life in public domain. He brought an unprecedented reforms in Indian railways under UPA-1 rule. Perhaps, he is all set to fight back again but his workers at ground level are reluctant to work with JDU workers. Lalu on several occasions conveyed his workers to be ready for the bigger sacrifices and he himself said that he is ready to gulp any poison in order to stop fascist forces in Bihar. Definitely, Bihar assembly elections will set new precedence in fragmented political landscape of India.

Shahnawaz Alam is a young emerging author

Graduated from AJK Mass Comm. Research Centre, Jamia Millia Islamia University

Will Laloo crumble before Congress threat?

Dr. P Pullarao

The Congress Party has  publicly  embraced  Nitish Kumar as the Chief Ministerial candidate for Bihar. The Congress has made it clear that if Laloo Prasad Yadav does not join with Nitish Kumar, then  Congress will choose  Nitish Kumar. This is a  direct threat to Laloo Prasad that he cannot bank on the Congress Party .The Congress  party has come to the conclusion that Laloo Prasad is a decreasing force and that Nitish Kumar is a  better bet. The Congress Party feels that Laloo Prasad Yadav would have no alternative but to join Nitish Kumar or his voters will abandon him. In any event, an open threat has been given to Laloo Prasad Yadav. Will Laloo succumb to the threat or find a way out ?

The choices are very un-pleasant for Laloo Prasad. At the same time, Nitish and the Congress Party are gambling that Laloo will succumb to their threats. It might happen that Laloo Prasad will patch up. But it might also happen that Laloo might feel that it is better to take  a lonely road.

The coming elections in Bihar are becoming strange. Nitish Kumar is the Chief Minister  with the  help of his worst enemy  Laloo Prasad Yadav.  Nitish Kumar and Laloo Prasasd Yadav have become open enemies. . The famed English writer George Bernard Shaw    said “Politics makes strange bedfellows”.  He meant that enemies become friends suddenly. But two tigers or even two cobras cannot live in the same forest. When a cobra and mongoose fight, everyone knows the outcome. But when two political cobras of North India like Nitesh Kumar and Laloo Prasad fight, the outcome becomes interesting and un-predictable. Nitesh and Laloo are nearing 70 years and are now fighting their last battles to the finish.  Nitish and Laloo made moves as if they were friends. But their enmity came out.

Nitish Kumar and Laloo Prasad have been enjoying power since 1977. Laloo Prasad, his wife Rabri Devi and Nitish Kumar have ruled Bihar from 1980 for 30 years. After BJP scored a big victory in 2014 Parliament elections in Bihar, Laloo and Nitish Kumar felt to survive, they had to unite. Nitish resigned as Chief Minister of Bihar as he said the big loss to BJP was his fault. He appointed Jitan Ram Manjhi as Chief Minister. But Manjhi started growing politically and Nitish again replaced him in February, 2015 with Laloo’s help.

For some time, there was great optimism in Nitish Kumar’s camp after he became Chief Minister again in February, 2105   that Laloo will forget the past and support Nitish   during elections in September, 2015.  Since 1992, Nitish and Laloo are sworn enemies. Nitish is largely responsible  for Laloo’s failing political career and going to jail and presently  out on bail and banned from contesting elections.

The false friendly picture started changing when Laloo started changing his tune. Laloo said ex-Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi must be brought back to their front. This irritated Nitish endlessly. Then Laloo said there can be no pre-determined Chief Minister candidate from their front. Then Laloo started criticizing Nitish’s government. Nitish wanted full merger of his party with Laloo’s  Party. But Laloo now started talking of only alliances and not a   merger.

Sensing that Laloo might make a big fool of him, Nitish avoided addressing joint public meeting in Patna on April 19, 2015 saying he was not well. Then again, there was a meeting of Janata Parivar in Delhi when Nitish was there. But Nitish skipped the meeting saying he had an eye operation. On May 28, 2015, the senior most leader of Laloo’s party Raghuvansh Prasad Singh said Nitish can never be Chief Minister if their party was part of the alliance. This was a clear message to Nitish if there is an alliance, he cannot become Chief Minister.  On May 30, 2015, once again Nitish avoided addressing a joint public meeting in Patna with Laloo, saying he is ill.

Laloo Prasad does not want Nitish to become chief Minister again. For Nitish Kumar, the choice is very difficult. He has to sacrifice himself and support someone else. This is a shock for Nitish , since he humiliated himself before  the entire country by going to Laloo for support , hoping  he would forget  the past.

The proposed Janata  Parivar merger  is  never going to happen. Nitesh Kumar broke ties with the BJP in 2013 on issues of self-proclaimed principles, saying  he can never accept  Narendra Modi as a leader of his alliance.  But such principles are very costly in Indian politics. So Nitish is in big  trouble.

1. The long rivalry between Nitish Kumar and Laloo Prasad Yadav cannot be wished away. Such enemies come together when they hate a common enemy more.  But neither Laloo nor Nitish hates Narendra Modi more than they hate each other. They pretended to become   allies but they know that they are each others’ worst enemy. Modi is only a political enemy and not personal enemies as they are to each other.
2. The main issue is that neither does Laloo Prasad wants to see Nitish Kumar become Chief Minister of Bihar again nor does Nitish wants to see Laloo or his family members become powerful again.  If Nitish Kumar is ready to agree that someone other than him will become Chief Minister, then Laloo might agree for a joint fight . But Nitish Kumar does not want to   sacrifice his ambitions to become Chief Minister again. Laloo wants anyone other than NitishKumar .  Herein lies the problem.
3. Nitish Kumar still has a good 15 years of political life . He will be there longer than Laloo Prasad, who is in fragile health. Laloo’s children also do not seem to be shrewd enough to survive in Bihar politics without their father.

Latest status:

Laloo Prasad has succeeded in his ambition to totally humiliate Nitish Kumar. Nitish Kumar humiliated himself and requested Laloo for support to stay on as Chief Minister. This was after a period of over 22 years of open hostility.  Nitish cannot survive as Chief Minister if Laloo withdraws his support. Laloo might feel it is better to lose another election but ensure that Nitish Kumar is defeated and finished politically. The logic is that if Nitish becomes Chief Minister again, then Laloo loses permanently. So the better choice would be that Nitish lose. How does it matter to Laloo if BJP wins?

Whatever Laloo might say publicly about BJP and Modi, he will prefer that Modi wins and Nitish Kumar loses. Laloo has no personal enmity with Modi. But he has personal enmity with Nitish Kumar. A BJP victory in Bihar is no worry for Laloo as Minority voters will become stronger supporters. But if Nitish wins, Minority voters will drift to Nitish and Laloo will have nothing. Laloo would prefer BJP win rather than Nitish .

“Revenge is a dish best served cold “says many proverbs. Imagine the pleasure of Laloo if he can make Nitish look like a fool before the entire country and see that he is defeated. Laloo has Nitishat his mercy. It might even happen that Laloo might withdraw support to Nitish before the elections using some excuse.

Bihar predictions;

It will be most difficult for Nitish and Laloo to come together. It was Nitish who ruined Laloo’s career. To expect Laloo to support Nitish becoming Chief  Minister is impossible. Laloo Prasad might tie-up with Nitish Kumar, provided there will be a different Chief Ministerial candidate. That is an advantage for the BJP.

Conclusion: Laloo would like his party to emerge as a big political party and see that Nitish is not Chief Minister.  Nitish would like to see himself as Chief Minister or even the BJP take the job, but not Laloo . The Congress has no presence in Bihar. But at all costs, it would like to stop the BJP from winning Bihar. There are many months left and anything can happen.  But the odds look increasingly that Nitish might not emerge the victor in this election.

It is obvious that Laloo Prasad had cleverly planned a trap of giving initial support to Nitish  and then decided to defeat him.  Nitish like all clever people thought he was the only clever man. He tried to fool Laloo with smiles and secularism. But Laloo wants to finish him with smiles and sweet words. Usually when you lay a trap for others, you fall into it and Nitish fell into the deadly embrace of a political python. Once a python embraces you, there is no hope. But four months is still a long time and anything can happen.

The Congress   will insist that Laloo support Nitish Kumar. There are only two options before Laloo. One is that he agrees with the Congress and supports Nitish Kumar. The second is that Laloo calls the Congress’s bluff and throw the Bihar elections into total chaos. Both are equally possible.

Dr P Pulla Rao is a Socio-political and Economic analyst

New Land Bill in Farmer Interest

Brig R S Chhikara

Opposition parties especially the Congress, Janta Dal United and communists have raised a lot of hue and cry on the so called demerits of the Land Acquisition Bill calling it anti farmer and pro corporate. Their war cry against the bill centers primarily on the perceived removal of the consent clause. This when Congress ruled state  governments have  themselves declared that provision as a major road block in the way of infrastructure, industrial, agricultural and social development. This also, when the Modi government has already agreed to several amendments to the original text and declared its willingness to discuss and if necessary, amend its provisions further.

Seen in this context it appears that opposition to the bill is being pursued simply for the sake of opposition to anything proposed by the new political dispensation.  It is a case of the opposition ganging up to thwart or at least delay any and all reforms which may help the government towards actualization of the promised Achchhe Din. The fight is basically for their own political survival.  There is little informed discussion on the needs and priorities of rural India itself. ‘ Anti farmer ‘ is a mere cliché bandied about by the opposition which is determined not to discuss the issues on merit.

All studies and surveys in the past have clearly brought out that rural economy is inherently a deficient economy because income of the farmer or for that matter of the landless labourer or artisan in villages, from agriculture and agriculture related activities, is insufficient for their food, health, education and social needs. The author had himself carried out such a survey some time ago.

The reasons for ever increasing rural ( agricultural ) poverty are basically two; First- Land holdings have dwindled due to increase in population and nuclearization of  families. A household holding say, five acres of cultivable land at the time of independence has today, three generations down the line, come to hold a postage stamp sized plot of one – two bighas ( about one part in 15 of the earlier holding ). This limited land holding does not ensure full employment for even one person. It does not even provide enough fodder for more than one milch animal for incremental household income. Enhanced productivity with better seeds and fertilizers has not compensated proportionately. Second- Inflation has resulted in further devaluation of the family income. Vagaries of climate further vitiate the plight of those who depend on agriculture as the sole avenue of income.

Only such families as have sent sons and daughters into urban or rurban whit/ blue collar employment have managed to make both ends meet. This is the reason why  rural poor have migrated to urban slums in states where such avenues are available nearby – like in Uttrakhand, Western UP, Haryana and Rajasthan. This is also the reason for mass migration from Bengal, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Eastern UP and Maharashtra to industrial and commercial centres like Mumbai and Delhi. The only ones managing to survive with a modicum of dignity in villages are the share croppers who cultivate land on behalf of several marginal land owners.

Enhancement of support prices for agricultural produce have severe limitations due to inflation and increased cost of living especially for industrial and commercial workers in rurban/urban centres of employment. Government subsidy on food products has its own ill effects on fiscal budgeting. Unchecked and haphazard exodus to cities leads to creation of urban slums and unbearable burden on urban infrastructure. The migrants are compelled to live in inhuman conditions with high cost of living making savings impossible. Where meager land holdings fail to employ the work force the only reasonable way out is to provide employment avenues in industrial and commercial activity.

Efforts to enhance rural employment through make in India schemes will succeed only when viability for industrial units is ensured. The answer really lies in taking industrial and commercial activity to the rural heartland- ‘ Make in Rural India’. This may be achieved by transferring production of low technology items like processing grains and pulses back to villages and by setting up dispersed production centres for garments and leather goods etc under the Manchester Model.

The other way is to establish industrial centres in the rural heart land where skill training and industrial jobs can be made available to local labour within reasonable distance from their homes. Rural education hardly produces employable work force. Land will also  be required for setting up facilities for skill training, transportation infrastructure, medical facilities, sanitation  and drinking water besides irrigation channels for agriculture and healthy water bodies for animal husbandry. How will these facilities come to be unless land is available.

These imperatives are well understood by the kisan and he is happy to part with his land at enhanced prices as that gives him the option to a better and safer existence. What is coming in the way of the proposed bill is not the Kisan nor the concent clause but political propaganda against it. Most of our politicians have no real connect with either the farmer or the landless rural labour. They certainly do not have any genuine interest in the long term well being of rural India. Their only interest lies in misguiding and exploiting the rural folk for their political ends.

Rural India will decide wisely as wisdom is one commodity they possess in ample measure. The new bill needs to be passed in the interest of the rural folk as much as in overall national interest.

The author has deep and abiding interest in rural poverty alleviation through constant interaction with the village folk.