Stressed but Smiling

While urban women in India remain highly stressed out, as a study points out, their rural counterparts face many existential problems.

Sopan Correspondent/New Delhi

Indian women are in a hurry to catch up with time. Their earnings, especially of those in the cities, have doubled up, according to a recent study. However, another study says that stress is a collateral damage, making Indian women as the most stressed in the world. Thankfully, they still have smile on lips and hope in their eyes.

The rural women, meanwhile are not yet out of dangerous and often life threatening motherhood. Infant mortality is the highest of all other countries. So is the Maternal Mortality Rate, a few notches down though.

A recent study released by the Nielsen Company examined that the consumer and media habits of women in emerging and developed countries has found that women in India are the most stressed.

Nielsen's study was conducted from February to April of 2011 and polled almost 6,500 women throughout 21 developed and emerging countries including those in Asia, Europe, Latin America, Africa, and North America.

The results of the polls showed that an astounding 87 per cent of Indian women claim feeling stressed most of the time, with an additional 82 per cent asserting they had insufficient time to relax.

"Women across the globe are achieving higher levels of education, joining the workforce in greater numbers and contributing more to the household income," said Susan Whiting, vice chair of Nielsen. They are also increasing their spending power, and with that they gain more control and influence over key household decisions.

As a result the women of today and tomorrow are powerful consumers and understanding their habits and attitudes is critically important for marketers and advertisers.

In India statistics have shown that women are more prolific users of social networking than men. Women talk 28 per cent more and send 14 per cent more texts than men every month, and also visit more Internet community sites than their male counterparts.

More than half of women in both developed and emerging countries say that computers, mobile phones and smart phones have changed their lives for the better.

The survey found that worldwide, women play multiple roles that contribute to their stress levels, but that the social infrastructure allowing them to navigate these roles differed between emerging and developed markets. As a result, women in emerging markets tended to be more stressed than women in the developed world, with women in India, Mexico and Nigeria feeling the most time-pressured.

Moneybag

Reinforcing the growing financial independence of women in India, a survey says the income level of urban Indian women has doubled in the last decade. This increase has also led to the average urban household income doubling, according to a study by market research firm IMRB.

The urban Indian woman who earned Rs 4,492 per month in 2001 was taking home as much as Rs 9,457 as of 2010. The rise in her income is directly reflected in the average monthly household income of urban India going up from Rs 8,242 to Rs 16,509 in 2010, says the IMRB survey.

While these figures appear impressive, they suggest that urban incomes have on average gone up significantly less than those of the average Indian over this decade. According to official data, India's per capita income rose from Rs 16,688 in 2000-01 to Rs 54,835 in 2010-11, a 228% rise. The IMRB figures suggest that urban incomes in the same period rose by 100% and incomes of urban women by 111%.

"We have aligned our strategy, communication and products to women. And with the growing aspirations and financial independence of women not only in urban India but in tier II and tier III cities, women are at the core of our business.

The woman today is buying for herself and for her family," said Kishore Biyani, founder, Future Group. The country's largest retailer, which runs stores like Pantaloon and Big Bazaar, has seen the contribution of women's wear to overall sales more than double from 22% when it started operations to 55% currently. What is significant in the survey is that with the woman's personal income doubling, she is increasingly outsourcing household work.

From 91% women saying they did household work themselves, the number has dropped to 71% in 2010, according to the survey. "With the average income of women and of urban households increasing over the years the propensity to spend has also gone up significantly. Although, there is a strong sense of deriving value for money out of all purchases made, the thought of putting all of the household income into savings is slowly diminishing," said Ashish Karnad, group business director, IMRB International.

Brand experts say the changes over the last decade where more of the buying power is moving into the hands of woman has led to her influence in purchases even in categories predominantly of male consumption. "There remain very few areas of consumption in which the female does not increasingly participate today. Most household purchase decisions are either joint or exclusively female. Like in the West, marketing approaches and brand experiences in India will increasingly need to be designed around these insights," said Tanya Dubash, executive director & president marketing, Godrej Industries.

And this trend is reflected in the survey which says while 34% of women participated in the actual buying process in 2003, by 2010 that number had gone up to 43%. "Is the recent explosion in male grooming only because of male consumers or is it also triggered by the subtle influence and desire of the female to have her man well groomed?" asked Dubash.

The survey, which interviewed 9,000 urban women above 25 years says as an impact of increasing financial independence, there has been a 33% jump in the number of women who have a savings bank account in the last decade. Also, from only 4% of women owning their own credit card back in 2001, there has been a 150% growth as 10% of women in 2010 possessed a credit card.

"With rising incomes and education there is a profound impact on consumption. The rates of growth of several discretionary categories are nothing short of dramatic as a result," says Gopal Vittal, executive director, home and personal care products, HUL, the country's largest consumer goods maker.

Given that one-third of the estimated 480 million jobs in the country are being performed by women, more than half of the advertising is targeted towards the homemaker.

Mortality

In India, over 400,000 new-borns die within the first 24 hours of their birth every year, the highest anywhere in the world, says a study by an international non-government organisation, 'Save the Children'.

There has been an annual decline of four to five points in under-five mortality rate and a 17 per cent decline in the Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) in the years of 2006-2009. Moreover, neo-natal mortality rate (number of infants die within a month), and a post neo-natal mortality (within 11 months) has declined by one point and two points respectively.

Still, one-third of all malnourished children live in India, 46 per cent of children under three are underweight in the country, and over two-thirds of infants die within the very first month of their birth.

Almost 90 per cent of these deaths occur due to easily preventable causes like pneumonia and diarrhoea and malnutrition. And this is after the Government has spent 20-23 thousand crore in total on the National Rural Health Mission.

Experts say it is unlikely for India to achieve the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of reducing the under-five deaths by two-thirds by 2015.

The promise was made in 2000 along with other 188 states and governments. Even countries like Nepal, Bangladesh, Peru and the Philippines are on track to meet MDG4, exploding the myth that the costs of reducing new born and child mortality are high.

Cold-blooded murder

Although Tamil Nadu government has been running schemes with an aim to curb female infanticide, such cases are on the rise in the state.

Shanti Priya/ Chennai

There was a pall gloom in Bhanumathi's home after she delivered a baby girl. Her husband, an autorickshaw driver, came to his wife's home and left with a long face. In the evening, an elderly woman one of her relatives came and asked her what she was going to do about the child. She told Bhanumathi that since she already has a girl child, it won't be prudent for her to grow the child.

Bhanumathi did not feed her child since birth. The old lady came with a potion - sap of oleander and caster oil - and forced it down the baby's throat. The baby shivered and died soon after.

Female infanticide is a criminal offence, still hundreds of girl children are killed mercilessly in the hinterlands of Tamil Nadu and north Indian states like Punjab and Haryana.

Despite high literacy rates and other human development indicators, Tamil Nadu continues to be among the states that top female infanticide cases. The state government had taken many measures to curb the menace. However, the scourge continues to prevail in rural areas.

Dharmapuri district in the state had once reported highest number of female infanticide cases. Although statistics show that the cases have come down NGO activists say many communities still practice this heinous crime.

According to available statistics, 48 female children were done to death in the area in 2003. According to a recent health survey, female sex ratio (in the 0-6 age group) is 878 for 1,000 males in Dharmapuri while the national average is 938 females for 1,000 males.

According to C Sevathan, Project Manger of SEARCH, "Socio-economic factors such as dowry and the preference for a male child in a patriarchal society are the main causes of infanticide and foeticide." The female sex ratio is rapidly decreasing. To eradicate female infanticide and foeticide, SEARCH, in association with like-minded NGOs, has taken up an awareness programme in Karimangalam block.

"Cultural programmes and dramas are held in every village on female infanticide with the slogan `Caring of women from womb to tomb' and not to discriminate the birth of a girl child."

As a first step panchayat health workers and coordinators undertake a survey of high-risk pregnant women in their villages. A special committee has been formed to keep a close watch on pregnant women. Through a multilevel approach health workers, in association with village administrative officers and nurses, create awareness among pregnant women on the dangers of infanticide. They keep a watch on women from the conception stage and interact closely with the couple and motivate them to drop the idea of terminating pregnancy, if the child is a girl.

Sevathan said, "Counselling is also provided to family members and continuous monitoring of the family is done on pregnant women till delivery takes place." A committee for the prevention of female infanticide conducts public meetings and creates awareness among people in every panchayat. Although these health workers and sangam members saved many girl children from the jaws of death many cases go unreported as the families migrate to the neighbouring States.

Kandhai, who planned to kill her third girl child, has given it for adoption after counselling. She feels that only the pathetic condition of her family had compelled her to take the extreme step of killing her child.

If the family does not want a girl child then provisions are being made for legal adoption and the cradle baby centre is only considered as a last preference says a health worker. Panchayat health workers and sangam members also encourage women with two female children to go in for a family planning operation as this would enable them receive Rs. 12,500 in fixed deposit for both the children.

According to sources, "The rapidly increasing and widespread availability of modern scientific devices and technologies such as ultrasonography and MTP (Medical Termination of Pregnancy) has led to widespread misuse."

The Department of Health has also given strict instructions to private scanning centres that they can divulge only the well-being of the baby and cannot determine the sex, which is punishable with two years imprisonment.

The 'cradle baby' scheme, a brainchild of chief minister Jayalalithaa, will be extended to Cuddalore, Ariyalur, Perambalur, Villupuram and Tiruvannamalai districts as the 2011 census has revealed a fall in the child sex ratio in these districts.

"The figures are causing concern," Jayalalithaa said. She added that female infanticide and foeticide could be the reason for this trend in these districts.

Cradle baby centres will be set up at a cost of Rs. 47.45 lakh and each centre will have a superintendent, an assistant nurse, an assistant and other workers.

The centres will have adequate stock of milk powder, medicine and clothes. Besides, cradles will be placed at hospitals, primary health centres and children homes to receive girl children.

She said the cradle baby scheme, launched in Salem district in 1992 with a view to eradicating female infanticide, was later extended to Madurai, Theni, Dindigul, Dharmapuri, Erode and Namakkal districts in 2001 when she became Chief Minister of the State for the second time.

As many as 188 centres in these districts were equipped with incubators, life-saving drugs, refrigerators, gas connections, bed sheets and clothes for children. The government also organised camps, seminars and conferences to create awareness of female infanticide.

"The scheme was appreciated not just in India, but across the world. Many girls were saved from the clutches of death and were later given in adoption; they grew up in families and received good education and are leading a prosperous life," he said.

Jayalalithaa said that so far 3,200 girls and 582 boys had been rescued. Subsequently, 2,088 girls and 372 boys were given in adoption in the country and another 170 girls and 27 boys were in foreign countries. Non-resident Indians adopted 13 girls and 5 boys. A total of 160 children were handed over to their parents.

She said the scheme and the awareness created by the government had had the desired effect in these districts. The child sex ratio in the State was 1000:942 as per the 2001 census and the figure became 1000: 946 in 2011 census. But Cuddalore, Perambalur, Ariyalur, Villupuram and Tiruvannamalai witnessed a negative trend.

Disowned by ‘lovers’, discarded by community

The problem of unwed mothers of Kerala is serious social issue. Aggressive social awareness should be launched to prevent sexual exploitation of tribal girls

Dr S Remadevi/ Kochi

The census 2011 warmed cockles of many Indian hearts. The literacy rate had climbed up to almost 70 %. Many governments and billions of money later, hundred per cent literacy finally appeared within reach.

Beena (name changed) became pregnant when she was barely 13. She fell in love with a bus conductor, Raju. Although she used to talk to him for long, she never felt that she should know more about Raju. When Raju came to know that Beena was pregnant, she was not seen in the area.

There were complications during the delivery. Fortunately, doctors were able to save both mother and child. But, for Beena, a tribal hailing from Attappady of Palakkad district, life after the episode was even more hellish. She was thrown out of her house and the community looked down upon her and many branded her as a prostitute and made advances towards her.

The community or her family never tried to find out the culprit because they thought the girl had "committed the crime".

Now, at 40 years of age, Beena earns her livelihood by selling her body. Her son, a heavy drinker, beats her up if she doesn’t pay for his drinks. She is suffering from various ailments, including diabetes. "My son beats me up quite often. He thinks I made him a laughing stock. He may be correct also," said Beena, philosophically.

Beena’s case is not an isolated one. There are hundreds of such unwed mothers in the tribal hamlets Palakkad, Wayanad and Kasargod districts. Most of the women, discarded by the community and disowned by the men who defiled them, face starvation and penury.

The Kerala State Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Department conducted a survey and found 563 unwed mothers in the state. But the Kerala Women’s Commission (KWC) puts the actual number at more than 2,000.

A few years ago, another survey by Deputy Police Inspector-General S Sreejith had found that there were about 1,000 unwed mothers in the tribal areas of north Kerala.

Another finding is that most of the unwed mothers belong to the age-group of 14-20 years. “This is nothing but sexual exploitation. If it were in a non-tribal area, the entire state machinery would have swung into action. No one cares for tribals as they are not a vote bank," said Sivaraman, a tribal activist.

Another shocking finding of a survey is that there has been a steep rise in the numbers of unwed mothers in the last one decade. “The KWC is initiating a police inquiry into the cases of young unwed mothers and making arrangements to rehabilitate the affected women," said a member of KWC.

The member pointed out forest officials, teachers, contractors, labourers and local leaders as among those accused of impregnating young girls. They lure teenage girls by giving them money, liquor, clothes, bags, and perfumes. They flatter the girls and then invite them to their homes or to see a movie. Some men offer marriage proposals.

Dr. KG Vijayalakshmi, director of Women Empowerment and Human Resource Development Centre of India, said the issues of unwed mothers are mainly linked to social backwardness.

In most cases forest invaders who had denuded tribals of their land have found to be the culprits. The irony is that tribals are forced work under them as daily wagers. The invaders exploited the illiteracy and poverty of the tribals. “Hunger, poverty, illiteracy, ill-health, lack of communication and financial constraints are leading tribal women to seek the help of non-tribal people," said Vijayalakshmi. “Tribal women become easy prey for the rich as there is no forum to redress their grievances. The corrupt police system also becomes party in the exploitation of the poor people who are reeling under poverty and ill-health. Many unwed tribal girls are working free of cost in the residences of non- tribal people."

GP Paul, a social researcher, says the issue of unmarried mothers is as serious as the problem of displacement from tribal territory. Kerala tribes have lost thousands of acres to non-tribal people, who venture into the forest to grab their land.

“No steps were taken to restore their land. Migration of non-tribal people continues. Raped and ravaged by non-tribal people, tribal women in Kerala are paying a heavy price," he added.

Earlier in 1997, a committee of the Kerala Legislative Assembly also examined the problem and submitted a report to the government, which failed to act on it.

Since then, officials and activists have demanded action and social programmes to address the issue of unwed mothers in tribal hamlets.

Pushkala Unnikrishnan, an activist in tribal issues and vice-president of the local self-government institution in Wayanad district, wants the government to implement special welfare schemes such as pensions for unwed mothers.

Bolan, a state committee member and KAF Wayanad district president, wants government to start planning a long-term programme for the welfare of these mothers. “Living conditions of children born out of wedlock are worst. Most of them have inhibitions to face others, fearing being taunted as the children of harlots."

Experts point out that premature deaths of unwed tribal women were not uncommon, and several crude and inhuman methods have been employed to eliminate infants even after birth.

“Some of the unwed mothers later turn into sex workers since there is absolutely no income for survival. The mothers are isolated both from their family as well as from the community. The culprits escape from the net through their economic and political power," Dr. Nair pointed out.

Dr. Beena Kannan, a health expert working in a government hospital in Kochi, a city north of the capital Thiruvananthapuram, suggested that regular medical checkups, both for the mothers and children, are essential for their survival.

“Besides imparting legal and emotional support, health organisations should give awareness on safe sex practices and condom usage," she added.

गांधी टोपी से सधती गांधी शिक्षा की राह

सुषमा सिंह/ नरसिंगपुर (मध्य प्रदेश)

रोटी, कपड़े और मकान की तरह ही आज शिक्षा व्यक्ति की मूल जरुरत बन गई है। शिक्षा की परंपरा हमारे देश में प्राचीन काल से ही चली आ रही है। नालंदा जैसे गुरूकुल की परंपरा भी भारत में ही रही। लेकिन आज बदलती दुनिया के साथ शिक्षा में क्या बदलाव आया है? सरकारी और गैर सरकारी तौर पर खुलते स्कूलों में शिक्षा का स्तर गिरता जा रहा है और अभिभावकों की परेशानी बढ़ती जा रही है। शहरों से लेकर गांव तक विभिन्न प्रकार की समस्या शिक्षा के क्षेत्र में आ रही है। कभी दाखिले को लेकर तो कभी पढ़ाई के खराब स्तर को लेकर।

मध्य प्रदेश के नरसिंहपुर जिले से महज 8 किलोमीटर की दूरी पर स्थित अंग्रजों के समय से चला आ रहा प्रदेश का एकमात्र अनोखा विद्यालय सिंहपुर में स्थित है। इस विद्यालय की स्थापना काल 1868 से ही बच्चे स्कूल गांधी टोपी लगाकर जाते हैं। विगत 143 साल से यह परंपरा चली आ रही है और आज भी कायम है। इस स्कूल का नाम शासकीय उत्तर बुनियादी शाला है, जो ‘गांधी टोपी’ वाले स्कूल के नाम से प्रख्यात है। स्कूल की स्थपना के बाद से ही पढ़ाई करने वाले छात्रों को टोपी पहन कर आना अनिवार्य किया गया था। टोपी लगाना कभी इनकी मजबूरी नहीं रहीं। यहां सिंहपुर के अलावा आस-पास के दर्जनों गांव की तीन पीढ़ियों तक ने अध्ययन किया है। अब तो कई बच्चे ऐसे हैं जो अपने पिता, दादा और परदादा के पढ़ने वाले इस स्कूल में अध्यनरत है। प्राथमिक माध्यमिक स्तर तक की कक्षा वाले इस स्कूल में लगभग 198 छात्र व 08 शिक्षक है जबकि 2004 में 350 के करीब छात्र और 13 शिक्षक थे। कुछ शिक्षक इसी विद्यालय में पढ़े और अब नई पीढ़ी को सही शिक्षित कर रहे हैं। इस स्कूल की खासियत यह है कि 21.7.1869 से लेकर आज तक के पूरे रिकार्ड को भी संजो कर रखा गया है।

शैक्षणिक गुणवत्ता के मामले में भी इस विद्यालय पीछे नहीं रहा। यहां अध्ययन करने वालों छात्रों ने शिक्षा, चिकित्सा, प्रबंधन, कंप्यूटर इत्यादि के क्षेत्र में कीर्तिमान स्थापित किए हैं। यही से पढ़े शिवकुमार महाजन इंग्लैंड में चिकित्सक है, तो विश्वम्भर दलाल सोनी कोल डिपो में उंचे ओहदे पर कार्यरत है। इनके अलावा भी अन्य छात्र आज इस सरकारी स्कूल का नाम ऊँचा कर रहे हैं। यह एक ऐसा विद्यालय भी है, जहां के अपने कर्तव्यों व दायित्वों के कारण समय-समय पर राष्ट्रीय पुरस्कार से भी सम्मानित हुए हैं। शेख नियाज मोहम्मद को सन् 1963 में राष्ट्रपति सर्वपल्ली राधाकृष्णन के द्वारा पुरस्कृत किया गया। सन् 91-92 में ही देवलाल बुनकर व 95-96 में चौधरी नरेन्द्र कुमार शर्मा भी राष्ट्रपति पुरस्कार प्राप्त हुए। बच्चों और उनके अभिभावकों को लगता है कि टोपी पहनने से बच्चों में अनुशासन की भावना आती है। वह ऐसा महसूस करते हैं कि टोपी पहनने के बाद विद्यार्थी की रुचि पढ़ाई-लिखाई की ओर मुड़ जाती है। राष्ट्रपति पुरस्कार प्राप्त सेवानिवृत शिक्षक महेशचन्द्र शर्मा अपना अनुभव बताते हुए कहते हैं कि उन्हें याद है जब सन् 1948 में महात्मा गांधी के वर्धा आश्रम की शुरूआत हुई थी और बुनियादी शालाओं में सूत कातना, गलीचा बनना शुरू हुआ था। तब उन्होंने इस विद्यालय में टोपी पहनने की परंपरा को और सुदृढ़ बनाया। वह एक संस्मरण सुनाते हुए कहते हैं कि सन् 1968-69 me शिक्षा विभाग के एक अधिकारी ने एम.डी. चौबे इस बात पर अड़ गए कि उनका बालक देवेन्द्र टोपी पहनकर स्कूल नहीं जाएगा, तब उन्होंने उसके पिता से अनुरोध किया कि आप बालक देवेन्द्र को कल से स्कूल न भेंजे। यदि आप विद्यालय की परंपराओं का पालन नहीं करेंगे, तो छात्र के लिए स्कूल में जगह नहीं है।

इसी स्कूल में पढ़ाने वाले अध्यापक लेख राम दूबे का कहना है कि बुनियादी शाला गांधीवादी सिद्धांत पर आधारित है। पहले यहां गांधीवादी नीतियां थी। लकिन अब सरकारी नीतियां लागू हो गई है। गार्डनिंग, दरी-गलीचे, चाक आदि बनाने के लिए पहले पैकेज भी मिला करते रहें। अब सारी सुविधाएं बंद कर दी गई है। 2-3 एकड़ के खेतों में काम किया करते थे। लखनादउ, अमरबाड़ा में भी इस प्रकार की बुनियादी शालाएं बनीं। वह अब नाम के लिए ही बची है, टोपी का तो वहां कुछ लेना देना है नहीं और कुछ भी नहीं बचा है। सिंहपुर बुनियादी शाला में टीचर भी कम है। 5 प्राइमरी टीचर और 3 मिडिल स्कूल में हैं।

मिडिल स्कूल तक की इस शाला के हेड मास्टर आई.पी. सोनी है जो नवम्बर में सेवा निवृत भी हो जाएगे। उनका कहना है कि यहां की इमारते भी अग्रेंजो द्वारा ही बनवाई गई है। उन्होंने 1955 से 64 तक इसी स्कूल में पढ़ाई की है। वह भी टोपी लगाकर स्कूल जाते रहे। उनके रिकार्ड के अनुसार पूरे स्कूल में मात्र 2 बच्चें सामान्य से और बाकि सभी पिछड़ी जाति के हैं। यहां पहले से बच्चे कम हुए है, इसका कारण यही है कि हर 1 किलोमीटर पर प्राइमरी और हर तीन किलोमीटर पर मिडिल स्कूल पर खोला जा रहा है। कंप्यूटर के लिए टेक्निकल टीचर नहीं है। 6 कंप्यूटर स्कूल में पड़े खराब हो रहे है। उसमें सरकारी तौर पर रेड हैट इन्सटॉल किया गया। जो किसी के पल्ले नहीं पड़ता। वहां के अन्य शिक्षकों को इसके बारे में तनिक भी जानकारी नहीं है। जिसे सरकारी तौर पर प्रशिक्षित किया गया। उनका तबादला कर दिया गया। मध्यान भोजन से भी कोई खास लाभ नहीं है। उनके अभिभावक सहयोग नहीं करते। ऐसी स्थिति में एबीएल स्कीम का आना कितना सार्थक हो सकता है। जरूरी यह नहीं है कि बस्ता लाए या न लाए। मूल बात यह होनी चाहिए कि पढ़ाई का स्तर क्या हो, बच्चा वहां से बाहर निकल कर कितना कामयाब होता है। प्रोत्साहन के तौर स्कीम चलाने से ज्यादा आवश्यक उन्हें सही रूप में लागू करना है। बच्चे अब अपने समय का सदुपयोग नहीं कर पाते। हर साल ट्रेनिंग में पढ़ाने की पद्धति बदलते रहना कारगर नहीं हो रहा है। टोपी के बारे में बताते हुए कहते हैं कि पंजाब में पगड़ी और गुजरात-राजस्थान में साफा जैसे ही बुनियादी शाला की टोपी का महत्व है। आई.पी. सोनी ने सरकारी शाला की खराब हालत को बया करते हुए कहा कि शिक्षा का स्तर उठाना है तो पुरानी शिक्षा पद्धति को साथ लेकर काम करना होगा।

Childhood Cast in Stones

Akshaya Rout/Kalinga Nagar (Orissa)

“The writing on the wall is crystal clear. These children will continue to

be victims of this booming quarry sector, unless urgent measures are taken

to wean them away,” laments human rights activist Manoj Satpathy.

For them, the bliss and joys of childhood is a distant dream. Their future lies buried under debris of institutional structure touted by the government but claimed by wretched poverty, social indifference and executive complicity. Scores of children living in the villages on either side of the Paradirp-Daitary national highway are the tender hands quarrying stones.

Deprived of innocence, about 1200 children are slogging it out in about 34 quarries in Orissa’s Jajpur district and its nearby areas, digging stones holding heavy shovels and axes with their nimble fingers. Small children toiling in many quarries are a conspicuous feature in many quarries along the Daitary-Paradip national highway.

For their parents, these children have turned out money-making assets but in the eyes of the outside world they are child labourers who are being exploited. The conflict between poverty of parents and illegality in employing these children is yet to be addressed with right earnest by the authorities.

“According to conservative estimates, more than 1200 children between 10 to 16 years are working in the open quarries from which laterite stones and stone-chips are exploited. They earn from Rs 80 to Rs 100 for eight or more hours of work. Denying the joys of playing and advantages of studying, these children grow up with several respiratory problems working under unhealthy conditions,” informs Manoj Satpathy, a human rights activist.

The quarry-based industries are flourishing in this part of the state due to heavy demand of stone and stone-chips by construction units and the public for construction or roads, bridges and houses. The ongoing national highway widening works have also boosted the quarry business.

“But the writing on the wall is crystal clear- these children will continue to be victims of this booming quarry sector, unless urgent measures are taken to wean them away,” laments Mr Satpathy. The authorities in a clear nexus with quarry lease holders are not taking any action against them as a result they are exploiting child labourers in the quarry-works, said Satpathy.

“An effort was made two years back by the district administration to liberate the children from the quarry works by attracting them into vocational training schools and formal education programme. It has now started paying off as one spots a number of children attending the schools in some areas. The district administration is also planning some innovative measures that will soon be implemented for ensuring better for these children,” informs Suresh Chandra Swain, district labour officer.

But the change has to be affected at the level of poor parents. Asks 53-year-old Dharani Behera of Balichandrapur village: “Will my child get a job after finishing school? There are so many unemployed educated youths in our village, whereas my three children are at least earning some

money.” Dharani has not stopped his children from pursuing their studies. They work in the quarries before going to school in the morning and again after returning home. In this highly labour-intensive quarry industries one major problem that is assuming serious dimensions is lack of protection for child workers from heavy dust pollution. Lack of safety measures in quarries has also hit the workers hard with respiratory problems and incidence of tuberculosis, says Mayadhar Nayak, a trade union leader of Sukinda. “Many quarry contractors, without obtaining any valid license, are undertaking quarrying activities in the local hillocks. But the authority is not taking any action against them as a result the government is losing lakh of rupees of revenue. What is quite shocking is that these quarry operators lure away parents to engage their children in stone crushing. Such an alarming trend must be stemmed immediately to save the innocent children,” observes Mr Nayak.

From rags to riches

Sopan Correspondent/Kochi

Born into the lap of impoverishment, Muhammed Ali Shihab, 31, can’t figure out which was the biggest test he had faced in his life. His life has been a fight against odds but they never conquered his will or resilience. Although he could not do much about some of the challenges he faced – personal tragedies like death of his father when he was only 11 years old or life in an orphanage as his mother could not bring him up due to impoverishment – he came out in flying colours in all professional tests he had attempted.

A resident of Edavannappara in Malappuram district, Shihab’s life story has all the ingredients of a Bollywood film. After the death of his father he was brought up in an orphanage. Not many had great expectations about him expect him. After completing his matriculation, he took up a peon’s job.

“He studied in an Arabic medium school and he was one of the best among the lot. From very early years, he started appearing for tests conducted by Public Service Commission and other agencies. His effort was to land in a job,” said a fried.

So far, he had cleared over 20 competitive tests and taken up different positions in the government right from that of a peon to railway ticket examiner. According to Shihab, he had a great desire to appear for Civil Services exam. He came to know about a Muslim non-governmental group that supported poor community members in UPSC exams. He managed to get in touch with Zakat Foundation of India and get assistance. But due to some pressing household problem, he had to discontinue the coaching for UPSC examination.

Shihab cleared the civil services exam in the third attempt. Since he studied in an Arabic medium school, he wrote his Mains in Malaylam. He had to seek the help of a translator for the interview as he was not proficient in English. But he is confident that he would soon overcome this hurdle too.

Shihab’s family is overjoyed. They hope that with this his difficulties will be over. The family which had seen the worst days, Shihab had to share a two-room house with one brother and two sisters, after the death of his father. “As a last option, mother took me and my two younger sisters to a Muslim-managed orphanage in Kozhikode district in 1991,” recalls Shihab.

Shihab would stay at the institute till he completed his higher secondary schooling and secured a teacher’s training certificate. He wanted to study further, but pressure to make a living meant he had to take up the first available job, which was of a last-grade peon in the Kerala Water Authority in 2004. The qualification was for the post was Class VII.

Later, he would get promoted to lower divisional clerk in a local body department. Shihab enrolled for BA (History) as a private student even as applied for several other jobs. In 2007, Shihab joined as an upper primary school teacher in Malappuram, where he continued till recently, when he took leave to prepare for the UPSC exam.

He came to know of the Civil Service coaching conducted by Delhi-based Zakat Foundation of India through a well-wisher. But again fate intervened, and Shihab had to drop out of the two-year course after five months because of domestic issues, including the treatment of his newborn baby.

Shihab did the rest of the preparation at home, helped by the faculty of a Civil Service training institute in Kerala. “I had to toil due to my poor knowledge of English and Malayalam. But I was determined to achieve my dream.”

Now that it is within his grasp, Shihab feels his life of struggles may turn out to be his strongest point. “I can better grasp grassroots-level concerns.”

Talks over talks

Sopan Correspondent / New Delhi

The civil society has been alleging that the government is trying to establish a weak system as the latter is not serious about fighting corruption. To a great extent the civil society is correct. The government has been trying sabotage all efforts put in place an effective institution to fight corruption. Sopan Step spoke to Kiran Bedi, a prominent member of the civil society. Excerpts:

Why there is so much rancour between the civil society and the government? What is your problem with the government? Are you asking for too much?

We have become a nation of insecure and timid people and we don’t trust others. The administration has become transactional in delivering services rather than transformative. There is a huge disconnect between the elected representatives and the electorate. The country is yearning for a comprehensive and effective system to prevent and punish corruption at all levels. There is a disconnect between the elected representatives and the electorate. But as soon as election time approaches, the same ‘seekers’ return to beg for fresh mandate, with folded hands before the mass of civil society, who they think ought not question them after having voted them in.

The allegation is that the civil society is spreading hatred against the political class. They say it is dangerous for democracy. Aren’t you undermining democracy by your ‘arm-twisting’ tactics?

The voters are changing today. They are better informed thanks to technology and media. People now want resolution to their long-piling issues that deny them their aspirations. They want to be engaged and heard. There prevails a huge trust deficit. People are helplessly witnessing their representatives ‘bulge’ in corruption, and yet get re-elected at their cost. There being no right to reject, the voter is compelled to choose between the devil and the deep sea.

The government has walked along with you on Lokpal Bill? There are a few areas differences. It’s legitimate to have differences of opinion in a democracy.

When the people agitated for an independent anti-corruption authority, under the leadership of Anna Hazare, it was due to shameless exposure of national plunder with disproportionate official response to arrest it. It laid bare the huge inadequacy of the existing enforcement machinery from all counts. But the key issue is that even after a score of meetings between Anna Hazare along with his legal eagles and five government ministers, two strongly divergent views have emerged. The government version is a hoax on the people of this country. It confuses and muddles the issues even further.

What are your differences with the new draft?

One of the main differences is regarding selection panel of the lokpal. On selection panel: the people’s bill comprised of two elected politicians, four serving judges and two independent constitutional authorities. The group of ministers’ proposal: six elected politicians — five from the ruling establishment — two serving judges and two officials. This is the first major difference. Hence, it is the ‘government in power’- dominated panel, against the balanced one proposed in people’s bill.

Another is on the search committee. This is a body to ensure countrywide search and co-option in a transparent manner of the best talent in the country. The civil society proposed a committee of 10 members, five from former senior judiciary, retired CAG and CEC, and five members to be co-opted from the civil society. This would have enabled an important role for eminent citizens of the country in dealing with corruption. The official version has no such provision. It is open for patronage.

The third serious major difference in the official bill is the provision of ‘may’ and ‘personal hearing’ after inquiry or investigation, at all stages for the accused. This will be open to litigations and delays.

The third major difference between the two drafts is that the official bill does not include bureaucracy below the joint secretary. This means the common man who deals with officers at the cutting edge for all his services is left to fend for himself. The provision for citizen’s charter in the official bill does not make a penal provision for delay in deliver of the service, which the civil society bill does. By this omission, the message being sent is that corruption is only corporate and bribes are ‘small change’ that the common man must learn to live with.

The other matter of serious concern is that the Lokpal is one more stand-alone body. It has neither been given the Central Vigilance Commission, nor has been transferred the anti-corruption wing of the CBI when it is doing the same work. Lokpal is specifically barred from any jurisdiction of any matter pending enquiry or investigation. Hence, all past acts of corruption, if under examination, are beyond the preview of Lokpal.

Is there a way forward?

If this kind of lokpal comes about, it will be one more wasted spoke in the creaking wheel of law enforcement, which will only add to the prevailing weaknesses. Instead of strengthening the anti-corruption machinery, it will further slow it down.

No doubt corruption is an issue, which has caught the public imagination at large and the undercurrent against the menace got expression through non-governmental and non-political agitations. The two prominent among them are one led by noted Gandhian Anna Hazare, who talked about enacting a robust anti-corruption law in the form of “Lokpal” and the other by Yoga Guru Ramdev, who talked about bringing back ill-gotten money of Indians stashed aboard.

Given the general apathy towards the political class in the country, both the agitations in the first place received popular support that rendered the government of the day to go on back foot with a perceptible unease. The UPA Government agreed to form a joint panel (representatives of Anna Hazare and the government) to work on a strong Lokpal draft Bill and set a deadline of June 30 to complete the task. All these followed a six days fast undertaken by Anna Hazare, which began on April 4 this year.

Several meetings of the Joint Drafting Committee, which was chaired by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee and co-chaired by noted lawyer Shanti Bhushan took place and the last meeting was held on June 22, where the two sides agreed to disagree on the provisions of the proposed anti-graft legislation.

The major bone of contention between the two sides in the JDC was inclusion of Prime Minister, higher judiciary and conduct of Parliamentarians on the floor of the Houses of the Parliament. Even differences cropped up over the basic structure, composition and powers of the proposed Lokpal. This led the government representatives to announcing that from here “we are taking the two versions of the Bill and now it would be up to the Union cabinet to decide on”.

Meanwhile contradictory comments from different quarters came with one set supporting the propositions of the Team-Anna Hazare, but another spoke in the language, which proved to be music to the ears of the government representatives and so once HRD minister, who also happened to be a member of the JDC, claimed: “There is no unanimity even in the civil society over various provisions, which non-official members are pushing”.
Moreover, the argument to exclude designated functionaries from the purview of the Lokpal needs to be examined against the fundamental tenet of equality and good governance. Can a head of State/judiciary/Parliament dispense justice, and be seen to be just, if he or she is actually pegged above justice? Should they not have to experience the same governance issues that their foot-soldiers are subjected to? Conversely, can they perform their exalted role with pending corruption allegations?
When there is an orchestrated call for the person to resign or to render him incompetent for high office, a corruption complaint becomes a political weapon. It fulfils the objective of the complainant. Not at least until the charges are framed, and formal criminal/departmental prosecution is launched, should a person be considered unfit for the office that he is competent to hold. Then, a Prime Minister/Chief Justice of India/Speaker would not become a lame duck. Unfortunately, in our country, political expediency and double standards have prevented healthy conventions from being established.
Many believe that ideally, civil society should have sought for the Lokpal to be an oversight body, to oversee the State's instruments for tackling corruption. An overarching citizen's watchdog, comprising eminent citizens, distinct from the investigative mechanism of the State, would better safeguard society's interests. It could call for records of investigations done by the vigilance agencies, hold discussions with citizenry and then ensure that no wrongdoer was let off lightly.

However, since the Lokpal, as now proposed, replaces the existing vigilance mechanism, it merits analysing the current shortcomings.
However, the other view is that he entire state apparatus be put under the Lokpal from Prime Minister to peon in the government and a multi-member ombudsman should be given powers of receiving complaints, enquiry and prosecution. This the government representatives in the JDC claimed would turn into creating a parallel government out side government, which affects very functioning of the state.

Countering the argument Anna Hazare said, “If we have independent Judiciary and Election Commission then it does not mean that they run a parallel government.” He charged that the government is not serious about fighting corruption and vowed to re-launch his agitation from August 16, the deadline which had fixed at the time of breaking his fast at Jantar mantar. “If the Parliament does not pass the Lokpal Bill before August 15, the Independence Day, I will once again come and fast for the legislation,” he had said.

In the meantime government has decided to expand the process of consultation and has convened a meeting the political parties to discuss the two drafts of the Bill with them to arrive at a consensus. The government has however announced that it will bring a robust Lokpal Bill in the coming monsoon session of the Parliament.

Almost about a month after Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev organized a massive campaign to force the government to bring back ill-gotten money of Indians stashed abroad. His fast-unto-death was scheduled to begin on June 5. He arrived in the national Capital on June 1. It was a rare spectacle to see four senior ministers arriving at the Delhi airport to receive the yoga guru. The government engaged Ramdev from the day one at the airport itself. It followed several rounds of talks between Ramdev and the government, but failing which the yoga guru began his fast at Ramlila ground.

Even during the fast for the day back-channel negotiations continued and at one point of time it appeared that a truce was arrived at and the yoga guru was ready to break his fast. But there appeared lack of trust between the government negotiators and the yoga guru, which resulted in firstly a u-turn taken by Ramdev and the police crackdown on the peaceful protestors at the Ramlila Ground in the midnight on June 5 itself, making things very unsavoury.

The government was criticized by the all and sundry for police action, but in the process it appeared that Baba Ramdev lost his anti-corruption bite. Politics then followed, which has still been continuing, rendering the main issue of black money to take the backseat.

Now the big question still remains unanswered as to whether the country could get rid of the corrupt, corruptible and corruption? Questions still remain answered as to how black money stashed abroad be brought back to the country? Is it possible? Is government interested in bringing them back? Let us see if people of this country get answer of any of these questions.

Similarly, on Lokpal Bill too nothing is resolved. Same set of questions continue to haunt the public imagination, despite a month long exercise to draft a bill to fight corruption. Don’s we have law to deal with corruption? Are not we trying to create another monster to fight the existing monster of corruption? All these need to be answered as quickly as possible by the leaders of the country – both ruling and opposition -, otherwise a possible drift could set in to hurt the country more than the corruption.