The Winds of Change

December 8,2013 would surely go down in the history as the day marking the stunning debut by Aam Aadmi Party, as the elections results to the Legislative Assemblies of four states were being declared. The results of the fifth state were declared a day later. Even a person living under a rock would notice two things: one, the change in the expectations of the electorate from the political class and two, the way they are exercising their rights to express these expectations.

Glued to the television the entire day this Sunday and going through the newspaper reports related to election results, I found some interesting facts which apparently seem disconnected but if examined in depth, are quite coupled and would show a clear trend.

Take note of the following facts:

1) That Congress was brutally decimated in Rajasthan is no more a news. What is news, infact, is that out of 15 Muslim candidates fielded by the Congress, not even one managed to win. Out of 4 fielded by BJP, just 2 won. And hence, in a 200 member Legislative Assembly of Rajasthan, this minority community is represented by only two candidates. What are we to make out of this?!Well, it is surprising that there has been a deep division and polarization of the minority votes and they are not going by the popular secular/ non-secular rhetoric only. People are judging the performance of the government by what they see on ground. Gopalgarh riots may have very well been a major reason behind such a mandate by the people.

2) Now come to Mizoram where Congress has been voted for the second time. Mizoram has a history of giving every govt. two chances in a row. So, the result was almost expected. Also, the administration of Mizoram by Congress has been quite good. If you notice, whenever Congress has been voted for power in Mizoram, coincidentally, the same govt was ruling at the Centre too. This helped the state govt to get funds more easily and concentrate more on development. But what is surprising is that inspite of Mizoram being a state divided by tribal identities and Mizo National Front enjoying a tremendous support base, people still voted for Congress. It shows that the politics of caste, region, religion (basically parochialism) is on a decline, where people genuinely respect good governance. 

3) Final results showed that AAP's share of seats was much more than that predicted by most of the exit poll results. One obvious reason seemed to be that many young people came out to vote and the loyalties of the young and the first time voters are hardly tied to any political party. Also their minds are most impressionable by the 'idealism', the kind that AAP campaigning showed. What was surprising was, that AAP was voted for by almost all the strata of Delhi society and people of almost all the age groups. This clearly suggests that the faith of traditional voters of traditional political parties has shaken and they are quite willing to see a change in the way politics works.

4) Going by the results of all the states combined, in more than 60% of the constituencies, the third highest number of votes went to NOTA (None Of The Above) option. It is surprising because it suggests that many people who were disenchanted by the respective govts. took the pains of coming out of their homes and registering their dissent. It also shows that had they been given a more promising option, they wouldn’t have mind to vote for this alternate option and give them a chance to govern the state. 

My only conclusion out of the above four points is that, the argument that some areas being 'strongholds' of some candidates/party and some sections of the society being 'loyals' of one particular candidate/party has been withering. People, anywhere and everywhere are looking for a strong alternative to misgovernance and this goes quite in favour of parties like AAP who are ideologically based on cleaning the system and providing good governance. How far will they be able to do it is for time to tell. But to transform themselves to a national force, this trend tilts quite in their favour provided they strategize in a right way. It also suggests that our democracy is maturing and it is no more an easy job to befool people by tall promises and hollow performances. The change is welcome!!

Bali Ministerial: How long can we allow our interests to be sabotaged?!

I am surprised at the amount of neglect an important issue of national and international importance has suffered at the hands of the Indian media. Though the print media has more responsibly discussed the issue at some length, there is no buzz about the same in the electronic media. I don’t know how many of us are even aware of the upcoming WTO’s Bali Summit and its implications for the developing world, especially India.

Let us look into the background first. WTO or World Trade Organization is the outcome of the 8^th round of multilateral trade negotiations, also known as Uruguay Round, which took place under the GATT (Generalized System on Tariffs and Trade). Till the formation of WTO in 1995, the international trade was governed by GATT. WTO had a much greater mandate as it dealt with areas like services, intellectual property rights, investment etc. which were not within the ambit of its predecessor which dealt mainly with the manufacturing sector. WTO advocates the following principles of trading system: trade without discrimination, free trade, predictability through transparency, promoting fair competition and; encouraging development and economic reform. The highest decision making body of WTO is the Ministerial Conference which meets once every two years. So far there have been eight such Ministerial Conferences and the ninth is scheduled to take place in Bali in Dec, 2013.

There are many agreements under WTO which include TRIPS (Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights), GATS (General Agreement on Trade in Services), TRIMs (Trade Related Investment Measures), Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade etc. But it is the AoA (Agreement on Agriculture) which has come up as a major point of contention for the upcoming ministerial. This agreement provides for trade reforms in agriculture and is based on three principles:

The first principle is ‘reduction in domestic subsidies’ which includes three concepts: green box, amber box and blue box. Green box includes all the non-trade distorting subsidies and hence, are exempted from reduction commitments. Amber box includes trade distorting subsidies and hence are subjected to reduction commitments. If a member nation wants to avoid the reduction commitment under amber box, the value of total subsidies must be lesser than 5% of agricultural product for developed countries and 10% of the agricultural product for the developing countries. This level is known as de-minimus level of subsidies. The blue box contains subsidies given under production limiting programs; they too are considered non-trade distorting.

The second principle pertains to reduction in export subsidies and the third principle to, improving the market access.

During the Uruguay Round too, agriculture was one of the issues which created difficulties in the developed and developing countries seeing eye to eye. European countries, which had been supporting their farmers with subsidies under Common Agriculture Policy, did not want domestic agriculture subsidies to be guided by a multilateral trade regime. On the other hand, developing countries desired the market access to their agriculture produce in the developed countries. Anyway, once the AoA came into force, a clause ‘due restraint as the peace clause’ was placed under its Article 13. This peace clause prohibited any country from challenging those domestic and export subsidies programs of other countries that were permitted under the rules. Consequently, peace clause became a veil behind which developed countries promoted their domestic agriculture by manipulating subsidies and putting them under the green box (which was exempt from reduction commitments). This had an adverse impact on the developing countries where the agriculture produce from the developed countries was dumped. Not only this, the poor countries had to restrict their own state supported procurement and public distribution schemes to meet the trade rules.

India recently passed its Food Security Act which aims to provide food security to 67% of its population. Now, it is contended by the developed countries that this sort of ‘domestic subsidy’, under the Minimum Support Prices, would breach the 10% level envisaged under the ‘de-minimus’ level and hence, are pressurizing us to cut back the subsidy. The draft for the Bali ministerial is pushing for allowing the peace clause for India to continue till the 11^th ministerial i.e. our food security program under this act may be continued only for another four years. This has been rightly rejected by India (which is also leading the G33 countries at the ministerial), but has not been able to get its position included in the Draft for Bali owing to the fierce opposition from the developing countries.

Let us see how and why we are justified in our demands. It is to be noted that the caps for deciding the de-minimus level are calibrated to the food price levels at 1986-88! India is contending the shifting of the base year to a more recent one so that the global food price inflation is taken into account. Alternatively, an appropriate deflator may be used to remove the impact of inflation on our administered food prices. Also, the ‘de-minimus’ level of subsidies are calculated on the basis of total production and not actual procurement, which is grossly unfair.

If we look at the statistics, studies suggest that while India seeks to provide 60kg of foodgrains per person per year under the Food Security Act, the US is already offering 385kgs per person per year under its several programmes. Also, while India’s food subsidy bill is expected to be around $20 billion, the amount spent by the US for its food aid programmes had reached $100billion in 2012 itself.

If India concedes to the peace clause, it would only give us the breathing space for another four years only and will not offer any permanent solution. It would put the risk of the lives of around 60crore Indian farmers at risk and will be detrimental to their interests. Plus, the peace clause holds valid for only a selected few crops. Not only this, it has an additional conditionality of more transparency on public stocks of food.

It is time when India and G33 demonstrated their will to stand the pressure of the developing countries and fight for the rights of the millions of poor farmers. Also, it is extremely surprising that there is no buzz about the issue among the various political parties, who otherwise hold parliament to ransom on many petty issues. Electronic media is also to be blamed for negligence by holding no discussions on such a critical issue, betraying the interests of millions of poor farmers. The proposed draft for Bali only serves the interest of the developed nations to the detriment of the poor nations. It is important that the issue be widely discussed and a strong public opinion be formed across the countries before the ministerial begins. Let us rise for our justified demands!

An Inconspicuous Existence

In this world, there are men, women, religions, castes, races …and amongst the din of these, there is one community that has failed to assert its identity! This is the lesser-known, lesser-talked about, lesser-researched and lesser-represented community of Transgenders and Eunuchs!

It is to be understood that, ‘transgender’ refers to an individual’s choice of his or her own identity. This self-identification may not match one’s assigned sex. ‘Eunuchs’ are those people who wish to be treated neither as male nor as female and embrace a lifestyle that is in conformity to their sexual divergence. The legend says that during the Kurukshetra war in Mahabharata, the son of Arjun, Aravan, offered himself to be sacrificed to Goddess Kali to ensure the victory of Pandavas. But as his last wish, he expressed the desire to spend the last day of his life in nuptials. Since no lady was ready to stake her life for a man who was sure to die, Lord Krishna assumed the form of a woman named Mohini and married him. The transgenders believe themselves to be the descendents of Aravan and call themselves Aravanis.

It is heartening that the neglect, humiliation and violence that this community has faced through the legitimate and democratic institutions of this country (like police, medical institutions, laws etc), tacitly and painfully, begins right from the family they take birth in. The community suffers a vicious neglect not only in the tangible areas of education, health and employment but also in the subtle-human fields of equality, dignity, respect and acceptance. The prejudice against them can be judged from the fact that in 1897 an amendment was made to the Criminal Tribes Act 1871 that put the eunuchs in the same category as criminals. The amendment was titled as "An Act for the Registration of Criminal Tribes and Eunuchs". Not only this, the rights of these people to property, inheritance, adoption, compensation etc are either not recognized or not defined by law. They are regular subjects to police hostilities, illegal detentions and abuse- physical and psychological. They have been regarded as errant in the society and similarly treated; the social stigma is intense and leads to further discrimination and humiliation.

United Nations Development Program, India published a report in Dec 2010 on ‘Hijras/Transgender Women In India: HIV, Human Rights And Social Exclusion’. It observed that Hijras/TG communities face several sexual health issues including HIV.  They also find it hard to come to terms with their gender identity and hence face shame and fear. This makes them more prone to alcohol and substance abuse in order to beat the depression and stress.

It has been found that the prevalence of HIV among rural Hijras is 17.5% against 41% among urban Hijras. This incidence is 50 times higher than the HIV prevalance in general population. Unfortunately, the contemporary community forums/programs hardly address their primary mental health needs which include social stigma, lack of social support, HIV status and violence-related stress. National Aids Control Program III has taken a progressive step (although as late as in 2007) in this regard by introducing Transgenders as the core group on which attention is focused for the prevention of HIV. It also envisages a greater role for them in HIV policy formulation and implementation.

The all-round derision of this community has led to their exclusion from social and cultural life, political participation and economic prospects and opportunities. It is time we gave them their due and made an effort to bring them into the national mainstream. The process, although not on a very big scale, began in 1990, with the publication of Bombay Dost, the first gay magazine in India. The Amnesty International also, for the first time in 1991, advocated the rights of the people imprisoned because of their sexual orientation. The landmark 2009 judgment of the Delhi High Court that struck down the 150 year old Article 377 of IPC, which criminalized consensual homosexual activities among adults, is also a welcome step in the right direction. The hitherto invisible community also staged a powerful effort to draw attention towards their rightful demands through the series of Hijra habba festivals. These festivals aim to attract the attention of the government to include and involve them in the intervention programs in a manner that is sensitive to their identity and needs. In 2011, India Centre for Legal Rights and Aid established the first forum of transgenders where they spoke about the violation of their rights, their health needs and their experiences with violence. The initiative of the Tamil Nadu government to observe April 15 every year as the Transgenders Day is a recognition of their struggle for a rightful place in the society. At the international level, events like Gay Pride Week also help bring awareness among the prejudiced rest about the problems confronting LGBTs.

Though a lot of civil society organizations have sprung up in the last two decades to further their cause and concerns, there is still a lot to be done. Today when we talk of inclusive growth, we must be sensitive to the needs of the community which has been oppressed and ostracized for long. Let us be more accommodative of them in our lives, families, public spaces, institutions and workplaces; and make them more confident to assert their rights and live a life of dignity!

References:
1) UNDP India Report : Hijras/Transgender Women In India- HIV, Human Rights and Social Exclusion
2) PUCL-K Report: Human Rights Violations Against Sexual Minorities In India

Democracy-in-flux

Newton’s third law states that to every action there is always an equal and opposite reaction. It would have been easy to understand the polity of nation-states had the laws of sciences been applicable in their exact form. Since the public sentiment and popular opinion are quite-a-ways from science, these principles do apply but in the modified form. Let us examine how! 

If the action taken by an individual/institution directly or indirectly affects another individual B, the response to that action is largely expected to be delineated, identifiable, spontaneous and capable of articulation. However, if this action had the potential of affecting a huge mass of people, as large as a billion, the reaction in the early stages is not only unpredictable; it is also, diffused and chaotic. Such reactions take a considerable time to become cohesive and organized.

This is exactly the case in the Indian polity of today. If there is one pattern that cannot be denied, it is the mass awakening of the people in understanding the issues affecting them, based on a broader understanding of their own rights and entitlements. This level of awareness was certainly not present till two decades ago. We can owe the phenomenon to the greater literacy levels, better communication, emergence of a dominant civil society and the influence of mass media. Though the process was slow, but what seems to be coming out of it is the better articulated public opinion.

From major to minor goof-ups, public eye is on the every issue and nothing can be dismissed as insignificant until the populace of this country itself stamps it as unworthy of consideration. It is truly agreed that the level of corruption that we witness today was unimaginable a decade ago. But what was also unimaginable was this level of public reaction to the mismanagement by government. We are slowly transforming to a society where media or civil society is no more needed as the pressure groups to convey the discontent of the people because public opinion itself is acting as a pressure group on the government. And no, this is not a revolution where the entire system and its existence are challenged. It is a reform process where the SOP and intention of decision making is challenged. It is not something alarming because it is essentially a democratic awakening.

The kind of extensive discussions that take place today have in a lot of ways made governance more difficult because of the greater demand for transparency. People are more aware of their rights, duties, entitlements and the lacunae in their implementation. Indisputably, all of it is supported by vast multitude of media presenting wide-ranging points of view even if they go against the incumbent government.

There is a definite change in the behavioral norms of the people towards a more demanding citizenry.  However, as Jean Dreze and Amartya Sen mention in their recent work “An Uncertain Glory: India and its Contradictions”, what a democratic system achieves depends largely on what issues are brought into political engagement. There are certain issues that immediately grab public attention while others do not. For e.g.  the conscience of the nation was stirred after the Dec 16 gang rape case or in the recent case of sexual assault on a photojournalist in Mumbai; what never made as much impact was the similar brutalities on the socially and economically downtrodden Dalit women for years. The country was incensed about the gigantic power failure on 30-31^st July 2012 where 600million people were left without electricity; what was never discussed that 200million of these 600million never had electricity.

The growth phenomenon that we talk about hasn’t really percolated to the bottom of the society. It has certainly touched the middle classes but not the underprivileged sections of the society. The National Sample Survey data suggests that average per capita expenditure in the rural areas rose at the rate of just 1% per year between 1993-94 and 2009-10 and even in urban areas, at the rate of just 2% per year in the same period. It is a common knowledge that even inflation has been atleast 4times the mentioned percentage levels in the same period. So our poor are substantially worse off than before. What we need is to bring their issues and problems to the forefront with far more vigor and strength.

The trends in the country with respect to sensitization and reaction to the social, political and economic issues are healthy. What is awaited is a more inclusive approach to the problems affecting the disadvantaged and the underprivileged who, unfortunately, constitute the majority!

Outraging My Modesty

The woman in me is pregnant with a thought. A thought that is disturbing, agitating and engulfing the pride I take in being an embodiment of the nature’s purest gift. Am I really the ‘shakti’ that holds within herself the power to bring a life to this world..! As I see another rape victim surrendering to death, the pain of realisation of my vulnerability refuses to dissolve. And as the wrath in me condenses, I find an equally potent fear permeating my surroundings.

‘Outraging the modesty of a woman’ is how we define it..really? Our body is the entitlement of our existence, it is the medium through which we perceive this world, it is our indulgence with the life itself, it is the sanctum sanctorum in the temple of experiences. A rape not just outrages the modesty of a woman, it violates her right to breathe the sanctity into her temple.  And perhaps that is why we make the bodies of women the battlegrounds of rage, the arena of revenge and the floor-test of the some crude masculinity that finds satisfaction in desecrating it.

A country of a billion rises today as if shaken in disbelief about the commonality and brutality of this crime. Are we not the witnesses and silent contributors to the same? The pervasiveness of this crime suggests how commonplace it is. More than 24000cases registered in 2011 and more than a lakh pending trials; the figures are gruesome. And this too when it is widely known that this is just a tip of the iceberg status because most of the cases go unregistered.  No phenomenon can be that common until it is indexed in the minds of the society, which in turn contributes to the same, whether consciously or in ignorance.

The reasons are rooted in the disadvantageous position of the women in the society in general. The story starts right from the conception and is very blatantly reflected in the falling child sex-ratios in the country.

 A study by Menon and Sen (2001) found that girls in India were discriminated against in several ways which include fewer months of breast feeding, less nurturing and care, less care for medical treatment if they fall ill, less of special food and less of parental attention. As a result they are far more susceptible than boys to diseases and infection leading to poor health and shorter life span. This lifelong discrimination in nurturing and care happens to be the real killer of the girls. Though it is less visible and dramatic, but it is as lethal as female foeticide and infanticide.

We should rather not be surprised to see the disheartening census figures when we witness that this kind of son-worshipping guiding the mentality in our MotherIndia.  A blatant discrimination by parents feeds in the mind of an average male the superiority of his status and his right to dominate women in all spheres of life.  At the same time, too much of an association of family- honour with women brittles her resolve to raise a voice against the wrong done to her resulting in many cases getting unregistered. It rusts her will to defy the debilitating norms governing her life and to challenge them.

Law and order situation is to be blamed equally. There is no denying that a human mind is a home to godly features that help him maintain the values, aesthetics and beauty. At the same time his devilish tendencies that urge him towards aberrations cannot be ignored and taken for granted. The callous nature that law and order has adopted towards the plight of women feeds the devil inside body of a man and only strengthens his clench on his evil intentions. It is no hidden fact that many cases are not even registered inspite of the victim’s plea; and if at all registered no thorough investigations are done. Looking at the judges-population ratio in our country, which is somewhat near 13:1000000; how can we expect the cases to undergo swift trial? How many victims actually find solace in witnessing the culprits being punished? The present state of affairs suggests that there is a near absence of fear of law in the minds of the people.

We should never forget that seeds of the fiendish tendencies will never germinate if there is swiftness of trial and certainty of punishment.  The way the cases are dragged on for years together adds to the agony of the victim and discourages her to continue her fight against the perpetrator.  Moreover, the gender insensitive procedures followed during the police investigations and court room trials pain a victim as much as the ghastly incident in itself did.  And it shows that the trauma is not just confined to the incident alone but like some incurable infection, it sours the wound every minute and only worsens it.

It is time we made our women ‘feel’ safe and confident about themselves. Isn’t it awfully paradoxical that a lady who feels competent and strong enough in her work environment feels equally vulnerable as soon as she steps out of her office when it gets dark?

What we need today are certain basic changes in the way we live our lives and our institutional arrangements. Infact the start should be made from the schools where children should be taught about gender equality right from the beginning through special mention of such topics in their subject matter. The law machinery should be tightened and be made more sensitive to women and their problems. Trials should be made swift. The recent steps taken for the provision of special elective courses on gender sensitivity by CBSE and the provision of fast track courts is a welcome step in this direction. The vacancies in the courts must be filled at the earliest. There is no dearth of laws in the country, what is missing is the will to implement them.

But most importantly we need to change the gross inhuman error that the society makes in blaming the victim for her own plight. We need to support them through their tough times instead of hurling further abuses on them; abandoning and isolating them. Infact women themselves should be galvanised to become assertive enough and not be cowed down by their suppressors.

Recently there has been a spate of moral brigade advising women on the way they need to dress up. If that was really the factor stoking the beastly intention of a man, why would the innocent minors of age as low as 11 or 12years be raped. Do these small children even know about sexuality and the flaunting of it! And how would we explain the recent case where the Goregaon police arrested a 50-year-old man who allegedly raped his 14-year-old mentally challenged niece.

Let us understand that rape is not a sexual activity. It is violence; it is the abuse of the human right of someone who is considered as weak, defenceless and unable to retaliate; by the other. Let us know what it means from the point of view of a woman who suffers. No, its not just about outraging the modesty of a woman. Just observe a lonely woman walking deserted the street in the dark or even a crowded one in the broad daylight. The obscenity of the gazes makes you feel not just helpless but naked. And that happens irrespective of the dress you choose to wear. I have rarely seen a lone woman relishing and appreciating the surroundings while walking; most of them are rushing to their destination in order to reach safe and sound as soon as possible. That is the fear that drapes a woman’s conscience every single second she finds herself alone.           

Any discrimination, abuse and fear has a profound impact on the psyche of women. It induces in them learned helplessness and makes them eternally dependent on male counterparts for support. It dampens their ambitions and aspirations, lowers their self-efficacy and kills initiative taking behaviour on their part.  And hence to curb this discrimination, intervention should be made both at institutional and social level.  Our mindsets are a product of our ecology and every factor contributes its bit in correcting a mistake.

It is quite true that the level of a progress of a society is reflected in the strength and progress of its womenfolk. No doubt that there has been a growing awareness about the gender sensitive issues and that women are making rapid strides into different walks of life but lets not get blinded by the miniscule stories of successes. The bottom of this pyramid really constitutes a huge chunk of our womenfolk. Its not only about giving them fair opportunities but also about making sure that they get the conducive environment to avail them and feel confident about their initiatives. Let no perpetrator of such a ghastly crime go unpunished, let no woman suffer in silence, let no evil soul harbour the thought that he can easily get away with it, let no such incident take place again..let us rise as a civilised society and give our women their due.