IIPM Press - Dalpatram Audhavdas Nimawat

General secretary, 1857 Azad Hind Party

Dalpatram, 62, is the general secretary of 1857 Azad Hind Party. Sitting in his tarpaulin home, he asks for jobs, compensation and houses for the victims of Gujarat earthquake. His 20-year-old son Sanjay, a tea vendor, is the lone breadwinner in the family. Daughter Sheetal, 15, assists her father in his struggle and is his heir apparent. Trouble for the ex-office bearer of the Republican Party of India started when his house collapsed in the 2001 earthquake. He was denied his compensation by corrupt officials. The state snatched whatever meagre belongings he had. He was shooed away from Rajkot in 2003 where he was protesting under the statue of Baba Saheb Ambedkar. Jantar Mantar was the logical progression from there.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

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Inside fortress Lanka

Tamil writer Aadhavan Theetchanya, who was recently in Sri Lanka for a literary meet, says the country is still to emerge from its paranoiac mould

My overwhelming feeling after returning from Sri Lanka is that what we know so far of the Sri Lankan Tamils’ agony is almost nothing when compared with the reality. On October 10 I was in the country to attend a literary function at Mathalai in the Central Province. Having been invited by my friends, I decided to forsake the hospitality of the Sri Lankans – which in any case is hard to accept – and let my friends take care of my expenses. This mountainous province has a high concentration of plantation Tamils of Indian origin, whose forbears the British had transported to Lanka for working in the tea gardens. The Sri Lankan Tamils and Indian-origin Tamils are separate units out there, and it is only the former who fought for a separate state and were traumatised by the war.

During my stay in the Central Province I got a chance to visit the plantation Tamils. I suggested to them that they should press for double citizenship – one from India as well. Of this section of Tamils 87 per cent are Dalits, and they all live crammed up in shabby settlements called Line houses. To these Tamils the defeat of the LTTE, to which they were sympathetic, and the killing of Prabhakaran came as a big blow. But few of them dare to speak openly about the war and the status of Tamils in the country. In fact about 20 per cent of the people who are holed up in squalid refugee camps are plantation Tamils. From south and central Lanka, they traveled north to work in the houses and on the lands of the northern Tamils. After the war ended they were among those who were herded inside the government-run camps.

After spending a week in the province I decided to see how Jaffna in the north was faring. It took me two days to get a ticket. Those who visit Jaffna for the first time are required to take only flights after seeking clearance from the defence ministry. The service is currently being run by the privately-owned Expo Air. An hour-long flight costs Rs 10,250.

It was a grim start. For, to catch the plane that leaves at 11.30 a.m., you must be at Expo Air at 6 a.m. At the air force control room we were told to deposit our cell phones and cameras; and by the time we reached Ragmalana Airport we had been thoroughly frisked. It was 9:30 a.m. There was a small canteen offering tea and buns at exorbitant prices: a single cup of tea cost Rs 30! It took us an hour to reach Palali airbase, which we found crawling with heavily armed military personnel. Indeed the place resembled a virtual fortress. Our documents were then searched and we were transported in a bus driven by army men. Once inside it, I saw that the windows were tinted to obscure the view outside. At another place our flight tickets were marked with a seal and we were warned that without such a sealed ticket one could not be allowed to leave Jaffna.

After some more minutes we un-boarded. A bus from Expo Air was waiting to take us to Jaffna, where almost every building along the bumpy road had been razed to the ground and the big houses abandoned. In Jaffna itself I found this once busy commercial and knowledge centre wearing a fear-stricken look. Wherever you turned or looked there was sure to be a soldier with a machine gun and at every 70 feet was a military outpost – a truly nightmarish experience. But because this town has been under army control since 1995 the people were used to it.

The second thing that caught my attention was the big cut-outs of Rajapakse. “I am your friend, your servant” – Rajapakse smiled in the numerous posters, some of which proclaimed: “There is no minority or majority; we are all a single race.” The words were naturally in Tamil. There were cut-outs of Sri Lankan soldiers too, and in some of them he was seen posing with soldiers. The government is still celebrating its victory over the LTTE – and this, mind you, in a Tamil citadel! One image in particular remains glued to my mind: a posse of soldiers in military fatigues whitewashing a Buddhist Vihara!

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

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Sunderbans calling

Mangrove forest may become one of the seven wonders

The world’s largest estuarine mangrove forest area, the Sunderbans, may soon find itself in the list of seven wonders of nature. Chances of it getting into the top list are high as Bangladeshis are ready to vote in favour of the Sunderbans.

The Bangladesh government has already been informed by New Delhi about the vote. And the good news is that both countries have agreed to vote in favour of the Sundarbans. Chief minister of West Bengal Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee told reporters: “This is indeed good news for both the countries. It will be great that the people of both the countries will vote to put Sunderbans in the top tier.” Other contenders from India include the Ganges and the Kaziranga National Park. Mount Everest, K2, Chitwan National Park, Baikal Lake and the Dead Sea are the nominations from Asia. The nomination process is on with 261 entries received for the top 77 slots. The results will be announced in 2011. The New7Wonders Foundation said the campaign would surely renew people’s interest in nature.

Two years back, fans had voted for the iconic Taj Mahal for a position in the new seven wonders of the world. This time too people are hopeful that Sunderbans will clinch it. No body wants it more than Kolkata-based environmentalist Subhas Datta. “The ecology of the region has to be preserved and that will definitely bring in tourists from all over the world,” he said. He is right. But what about the damaged embankments in the Sunderbans that were destroyed by cyclone Aila? And why did the government take five months to acquire lands? There are many unanswered questions.

However, the state government is all set to acquire 5,963 acre for reconstruction of 834 km of embankment in the Sunderbans with Rs 100 crore of Central assistance. “The decision has been taken for restoration of the area,” said state FM Asim Dasgupta. But many doubt the government’s decision as it was announced after dates of by-polls to the 10 Assembly seats were out. The ruling Left Front was routed in the recent polls in districts where Aila wreaked havoc. Senior journalist Sankar Roy told TSI that acquisition of land in this case may be less cumbersome. But he added, “Is the announcement legal because it came just after by-poll dates were announced?” The readers will know the best answer.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

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Mujib’s killing triggered Bangladesh’s backward march

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founder of Bangladesh, was killed by some disgruntled army officers on August 15, 1975, along with his family members, including nine-year-old son Sheikh Russel. His daughters, Sheikh Hasina and Sheikh Rehana, were the only survivors as they were abroad at that time.

The killers who confessed, Col (Retd) Rashid and Col (Retd) Faruk, along with some accomplices, were given capital sentences long after the murders. Most of them are now absconding while some are behind bars. The case is now in its final stage as the hearing goes on in the country’s apex court.

So, how was Bangladesh affected by the assassination of Mujib? Those involved in the plot or those who stood to benefit from this act will invariably say that the murder of Sheikh Mujib helped Bangladesh get rid of being subservient to Delhi and Moscow. It is true that Mujib and his party Awami League had and still has a pro-India image. India extended her hand of cooperation to Bangladesh’s struggle for independence. India gave shelter to 10 million refugees, trained the Bangladeshi liberation fighters, provided all sorts of supplies to them and finally, the Indian Army fought against the occupying Pakistani forces. So the good relations between Bangladesh and India during Mujib’s time was an obvious and logical conclusion of the nine months of bloody war.

Bangladesh was proud of having a modern, secular and democratic constitution just within a year of her independence. Democracy, socialism, secularism and Bengali nationalism were the four principles of that constitution and the state was getting a shape. Some may differ here, saying Mujib banned most newspapers except the four loyal to him and attempted to introduce a one-party democratic system in the country.

Mujib’s murder changed the character of the country. Then army chief Maj. Gen. Ziaur Rahman took office. The constitution was amended with social justice, full trust on Allah and Bangladeshi nationalism replacing socialism, secularism and Bengali nationalism respectively. Analysts say that the state mechanism started getting communalised from that period. But it could not influence people widely as it went against their heritage of over 1000 years.


Zia rehabilitated the anti-liberation forces and appointed Shah Aziz, one of them, as the Prime Minister in his cabinet. Mujib had initiated the trial of these collaborators of the Pakistani forces.

Another dictator, Gen. Ershad, took a leaf out of Zia’s book and declared Islam as the state religion of Bangladesh through the 8th amendment of the constitution. It helped the anti-liberation pro-Pakistan quarters gather strength to stake their claim to political power.

Mujib was hardly a socialist. He added the term ‘socialism’ to the constitution as at that time socialism was perceived to be the vehicle of equitable growth. It also brought Bangladesh closer to the Left block in the international arena.

August 15 brought a radical change in the country’s foreign policy. Dhaka did not turn her face away from friends in the Left block overnight but started pursuing a policy which leant towards the West. Within a decade of its independence, Pakistan lost its way to democracy. In 1958, Field Marshall Ayub Khan imposed military rule over the two-part country. And till 1971, Pakistan was ruled by the military junta and politicians who came from feudal backgrounds. The 1970 general elections brought Awami League a landslide victory mandating them to form government. Pakistani neo-colonialists did not agree to hand over power to Mujib or empower the Bengali people and instead ordered a military crackdown on 25 March, 1971. The war for liberation started.

Mujib's murder pushed politics back to where they were in undivided Pakistan. Military men and their subservient civil politicians came to the forefront. Both Gen. Zia and later Gen. Ershad formed political parties, namely BNP and Jatiya Party. It is beyond doubt that the August 15 incident steered Bangladesh in a totally different direction which the country might not have chosen if she had the option.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

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Banana Bonanza

A NEW technology to delay ripening of bananas could turn India into a top exporter, reports Puja Awasthi

The banana, often shunned by dieters for its calorific value, has become a major player in global markets. In terms of volume it ranks first, though where value is concerned it is placed second after citrus fruits. According to statistics released by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), world exports of bananas in 2006 totalled 16.8 million tonnes ($ 68.1 million). Now consider this: While India accounts for nearly 22 per cent of the world’s banana output and stands number one, it figures nowhere in the list of top exporters. Ecuador, Costa Rica and the Philippines, says the FAO, produce 6, 2.08 and 7.48 per cent of the world’s fourth most widely cultivated food item respectively. But, even though exports from India are steadily rising, set against Ecuador which supplies 29 per cent of the world’s bananas and Guatemala which contributes 7 per cent, India’s share of 0.01 per cent is negligible. Also, on the list of banana exporters, India’s position is a miserable 41st.

But all that could change in two to three years, following the successful testing of a technology by the Lucknow-based National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI) that targets ethylene – a plant hormone-producing gene of the fruit. It is this hormone that causes its ripening, thus prolonging its shelf life. The extended time frame is because regulatory committees have to first grant permission for field testing of the product in at least six locations.

This tropical fruit has to be transported long distances for export (the major importers being EU at 39 per cent and the US at 26 per cent) and is harvested in bunches before it is fully mature. The fruit is transported at 13 degrees Celsius – which permits storage for three to four weeks. After that the bananas are stored at 17 degrees Celsius and treated with low concentrations of ethylene for ripening. The NBRI technology identifies the genes involved in ethylene production and fruit softening, and makes use of fruit-specific promoters to regulate the banana's ripening.

Dr Pravendra Nath, head of the institute’s plant gene expression lab who led the team of 10 which tested the technology, treads cautiously: “There have been no reported publications of this kind of technology, so we can safely assume we are the first to develop it. Normally, a technology needs to be tested for five generations before it can be called successful. But our tests over three generations have given us a high degree of certainty that this behaviour will not break down in future generations.”

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

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Extremely irresponsible manner

"How can we keep quite over this humiliating episode? The Karnataka police have behaved in an extremely irresponsible manner. We will seek an unconditional apology from them for this unwise act,” JKCA secretary general, Muhammad Saleem Khan, told TSI.

He added: “I personally know the boys of our team; they are all professionals, it is impossible for them to indulge in any unlawful activity as they don’t have time to concentrate on such things. How can one accept the police claim as true? Our players underwent security frisking at four airports before reaching Bangalore. Why did no alarm go off anywhere else?”

Mr Khan is baffled at the national media hype that erupted over the incident. “If they had any information about our boys, the police should have handled the issue discreetly. It seems they were trying to defame Kashmiri cricketers by making an unnecessarily hue and cry,” he said.

He said Union Minister Dr. Farooq Abdullah, who is the patron of JKCS, was very quick to react over the detention of Kashmiri players in Bangalore. However Abdullah said that the Bangalore police alone could not be blamed as “they were fed with wrong information by some people from here.”

While asking the Director-General of J&K Police to investigate, Dr Abdullah said that he suspected the “hand of those who could not find a place in the team”.

The Bangalore episode has deeply irritated cricket lovers in Kashmir. As soon as word spread, violent protests and clashes erupted in several areas of Srinagar city. Groups of youth came on to the streets and staged demonstrations against the Bangalore police, demanding the safe return of the Valley players.

Both mainstream and separatist politicians, too, have voiced their annoyance. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has alleged that Kashmiri cricketers were being made “scapegoats.”

"It is not that we are kepping silent on this. We have been on the job since the moment we received the news about the detention of the two boys. The episode has rubbed salt into the wounds of the people in the Valley,” Omar told the media in Srinagar.

The chief Muslim cleric of Kashmir and chairman of a faction of the Hurriyat Conference, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, while terming the incident unfortunate said it is regrettable that Kashimi youth are being victimised outside the Valley. “If the dialogue process goes on we will raise this issue and will press New Delhi to stop such things,” Mirwaiz said.

People's Democratic Party (PDP) President Mehbooba Mufti told TSI: “It’s an emotional, psychological and physical alienation, and these things rub salt into our wounds. Our cricketers are our stars, if they are not safe in the rest of country, then who else is?”

The unfortunate Bangalore incident could have been avoided with a bit of tact. The ruckus may not have really been about politics alone, but what happened to the two budding Kashmiri cricketers at the Chinnaswamy Stadium certainly wasn’t cricket. It was probably symptomatic of a deep-rooted prejudice against boys from the Valley. It is quite clear that the challenges that Kashmir’s young cricketers face are not confined to the field of play alone. They go well beyond the sporting arena.

For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

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