May is the month of sunstroke for the people of Tamilnadu. The peak summer period of Kathiri had the climax of 42.5 degree Celsius on the last day (May 28). The massive hike in petrol price matched the soaring temperature. While we the hapless people are reeling under the pressure of high petrol price, the bunks are dry without petrol and diesel. Serpentine queues, and fisticuffs between the exasperated consumers and the staff of petrol bunks are regular entertainment features for the past few days. Some bunks are generous enough to ration their limited supply. No proper explanation of this sudden shortage from those concerned; this stirred the rumour mongers into swift action. What excellent governance do Indians have? How true is the popular saying "The man who is hit by the lightning is bitten by a snake!"
Monday, May 28, 2012
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Austerity : A Hollow Slogan
The Finance Minister pressed the austerity button once again. Millions in India are having a “below austere” existence forced upon them by an insensitive system. Government spending on wasteful causes has been a common practice: advertisements in the media glorifying of leaders and governments (both central as well as the state) spending crores of rupees: extravagant public functions: foreign travels spending astronomical amounts of tax payers money : huge amount of subsidy to the undeserving: ……..the list is legion. Business icons N.R.Narayana Murthy and Azim Premji reportedly prefer to travel by economy class which was ridiculed as “cattle class” by the former Minister Shashi Tharoor. While our leaders and “public” servants have no qualms in spending public money.
We are not holy as regards spending money for social and religious functions: extravagant marriage ceremonies, birthdays, anniversaries, “coming of age functions”, etc. For the rulers as well as the ruled, profligacy is the norm and austerity is the exception.
We are not holy as regards spending money for social and religious functions: extravagant marriage ceremonies, birthdays, anniversaries, “coming of age functions”, etc. For the rulers as well as the ruled, profligacy is the norm and austerity is the exception.
Monday, May 21, 2012
Dr.J Jayalalithaa’s , One Year Rule : A Social Workers Assessment
An impressive one year in office as Chief Minister of Tamilnadu by Dr.J Jayalalithaa. Among the orders she signed on first day was the one doubling the old age pension amount from Rs.500 to Rs 1000 per month. Tamilnadu is the first among the big Indian states and the third (Delhi and Goa are the other states) to sanction Rs.1000 as pension to senior citizens. The CM also enhanced the monthly social security amount to Rs.1000 to the differently abled, the destitute women and widows. Tamilnadu is also the first state to distribute social security assistance through banks by opening individual bank accounts which most of them never had in their lives. Delivery of assistance at the doorstep of the poor beneficiaries using biometric , smart cards eliminates corruption which was rampant earlier and ensures dignity of the recipients. In addition to proactive social security measures , the CM has focussed on important food security initiatives such as provision of 20kg rice to family cardholders and 35 kg rice to Antyodaya Anna Yojana card holders every month free of cost., and streamlining the PDS (public distribution system).
Distribution of free sanitary napkins to adolescent girls is an admirable scheme of Dr.J Jayalalithaa. The CM’s comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme was widened in coverage and improved benefiting nearly 43,000 patients needing surgery in the first year itself. Free laptops to plus 2 and college students is a beneficial step. Similiarly, tuition fees to first generation college students and facility for online registration for employment at schools are progressive measures. The milch cows, goats and sheep distributed to poor women in the villages helped raise rural income levels and milk production in the state. When the cyclone Thane wreaked havoc, the government machinery moved swiftly in arranging disaster relief and carried out long-term rehabilitation programmes with efficiency. The dismissal of the People’s Welfare Workers (though political appointees) and the anxiety caused to parents and children over the Uniform System of School Education could have been avoided. No balance sheet can be without the debit side.
Dr J Jaylalithaa’s Vision Tamilnadu 2023 is an ambitious document. It aims at 11 per cent economic growth and a Tamilnadu free of poverty and hunger. The vision can be translated into a reality in eleven years with a determined leader like Dr J Jayalalithaa, good governance, and people’s participation. It is our collective responsibility to strengthen the governments efforts to make Tamilnadu the numero uno state.
Distribution of free sanitary napkins to adolescent girls is an admirable scheme of Dr.J Jayalalithaa. The CM’s comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme was widened in coverage and improved benefiting nearly 43,000 patients needing surgery in the first year itself. Free laptops to plus 2 and college students is a beneficial step. Similiarly, tuition fees to first generation college students and facility for online registration for employment at schools are progressive measures. The milch cows, goats and sheep distributed to poor women in the villages helped raise rural income levels and milk production in the state. When the cyclone Thane wreaked havoc, the government machinery moved swiftly in arranging disaster relief and carried out long-term rehabilitation programmes with efficiency. The dismissal of the People’s Welfare Workers (though political appointees) and the anxiety caused to parents and children over the Uniform System of School Education could have been avoided. No balance sheet can be without the debit side.
Dr J Jaylalithaa’s Vision Tamilnadu 2023 is an ambitious document. It aims at 11 per cent economic growth and a Tamilnadu free of poverty and hunger. The vision can be translated into a reality in eleven years with a determined leader like Dr J Jayalalithaa, good governance, and people’s participation. It is our collective responsibility to strengthen the governments efforts to make Tamilnadu the numero uno state.
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Satyamev Jayate : An Innovation in Socio- Infotainment
Aamir Khan’s Satyamev Jayate (SJ) episodes on female foeticide and child sexual abuse (many more to follow) are informative, emotive and gripping. The issues are already in the public domain thanks to the electronic media besides the newspaper and magazines.
But what makes the SJ episodes different are the anchor Aamir Khan’s social image and the innovative manner of presentation with a deft combination of information, touching presentation of personal experiences, inputs from specialists, interaction with the audience and field-centred illustrations. Extensive research work has preceded the making of the SJ episodes . Female foeticide has been shown on a very wide canvas: obsession with male children, sex identification, scanning of the foetus, coercion for abortion, domestic violence against women, unethical medical practices, declining child sex ratio, shortage of women for marriage in many places and the implications of all these elements. The sting operation by two journalists did not succeed in influencing the government. The law did not take its own course. The law breakers are left untouched, while the journalists had to face tough experiences for the exposure. The commitment of a government officer did reverse the situation effectively in one community and was shown in the episode, which gives hope.
The reach of the SJ episodes is enormous because of the simultaneous multilingual telecast and special shows in regions without access to TV. Aamir Khans’s sincerity of purpose is convincing beyond doubt. The SJ episodes have the making of a movement for social change. The early exposures in the TV channels suffered from the absence of effective follow-up. We should not miss the current opportunity initiated by Aamir Khan through the SJ episodes as the issues raised are our real issues. Let us act . Jai Hind.
But what makes the SJ episodes different are the anchor Aamir Khan’s social image and the innovative manner of presentation with a deft combination of information, touching presentation of personal experiences, inputs from specialists, interaction with the audience and field-centred illustrations. Extensive research work has preceded the making of the SJ episodes . Female foeticide has been shown on a very wide canvas: obsession with male children, sex identification, scanning of the foetus, coercion for abortion, domestic violence against women, unethical medical practices, declining child sex ratio, shortage of women for marriage in many places and the implications of all these elements. The sting operation by two journalists did not succeed in influencing the government. The law did not take its own course. The law breakers are left untouched, while the journalists had to face tough experiences for the exposure. The commitment of a government officer did reverse the situation effectively in one community and was shown in the episode, which gives hope.
The reach of the SJ episodes is enormous because of the simultaneous multilingual telecast and special shows in regions without access to TV. Aamir Khans’s sincerity of purpose is convincing beyond doubt. The SJ episodes have the making of a movement for social change. The early exposures in the TV channels suffered from the absence of effective follow-up. We should not miss the current opportunity initiated by Aamir Khan through the SJ episodes as the issues raised are our real issues. Let us act . Jai Hind.
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Doomed Universities and Distorted Distance Education
Deemed-to-be universities , open universities and distance education programmes are very much needed in India because of the large population in the young age groups. But in a country riddled with mind-boggling scams and scandals, the education sector is not an exception. Rather, it is in the fore front of corruption, “extortion” and mismanagement from pre-school to doctoral levels.
Academic excellence and adequate infrastructure are important criteria for granting the status of a deemed-to-be university to an educational institution under section 3 of the UGC Act. But in the post-liberalisation era, political clout and money power have become key factors in the expansion of deemed universities in the country: 129 by the end of 2011. The performance record of the vast majority of the deemed universities can be easily understood from the action of the Ministry of Human Resource Development which derecognised 44 deemed universities and put another 44 on notice two years ago. But all of them are still in business. The Governor as Chancellor of the universities in a state was the norm in the early days. Then the politicians entered the university scene directly with the education ministers becoming pro-chancellors. But the deemed universities, many of which are family enterprises, created many chancellors, pro-chancellors and vice-chancellors, with the dynastic system in place. In contrast , the prestigious Tata Institute of Social Sciences (a deemed university) is headed by its Director and its governing board has a chairman. Many deemed universities are liberal in conferring honorary doctorates and the credentials of the recipients are often questionable. The prefix “Dr” is the most sought after decoration by persons in all walks of life including even astrologers.
Barring the Indira Gandhi Open University (IGNOU), the distance education centres of the different universities are in a state of disarray ad deliberate deviance despite having a Distance Education Council of the Government of India. Almost all courses including engineering are offered by the distance education centres. Only the medical degrees are spared at present. Sub- standard reading materials, incompetent personnel handling contact classes , and inadequate practicum are the common features of many distance education courses. Project report is a requirement of some degrees and the quality of most of the reports is poor. Plagiarism and “outsourcing” are accepted as “normal”.
The Manonmaniam Sundaranar University (MSU) has hit the headlines recently. It ran 329 unapproved programmes through ”Satellite Centres” between 2008 and 2011 without the approval of either the Distance Education Council or the Indian Council of Technical Education according to a recent note of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG). The validity of the certificates of around 80,000 students is under the scanner. While 74 private institutions- “technical collaborators”- got an undue benefit of INR 27.73 crore, the University incurred a loss of INR 35.41 crore in revenue. Some institutes virtually “looted” the students by charging up to 40 times the fee fixed by the University. The MSU case may only be the tip of an iceberg.
The Universities in India are growing exponentially : 30 in 1951 and 634 by the end of 2011. But at what cost and for whose benefit ?
Academic excellence and adequate infrastructure are important criteria for granting the status of a deemed-to-be university to an educational institution under section 3 of the UGC Act. But in the post-liberalisation era, political clout and money power have become key factors in the expansion of deemed universities in the country: 129 by the end of 2011. The performance record of the vast majority of the deemed universities can be easily understood from the action of the Ministry of Human Resource Development which derecognised 44 deemed universities and put another 44 on notice two years ago. But all of them are still in business. The Governor as Chancellor of the universities in a state was the norm in the early days. Then the politicians entered the university scene directly with the education ministers becoming pro-chancellors. But the deemed universities, many of which are family enterprises, created many chancellors, pro-chancellors and vice-chancellors, with the dynastic system in place. In contrast , the prestigious Tata Institute of Social Sciences (a deemed university) is headed by its Director and its governing board has a chairman. Many deemed universities are liberal in conferring honorary doctorates and the credentials of the recipients are often questionable. The prefix “Dr” is the most sought after decoration by persons in all walks of life including even astrologers.
Barring the Indira Gandhi Open University (IGNOU), the distance education centres of the different universities are in a state of disarray ad deliberate deviance despite having a Distance Education Council of the Government of India. Almost all courses including engineering are offered by the distance education centres. Only the medical degrees are spared at present. Sub- standard reading materials, incompetent personnel handling contact classes , and inadequate practicum are the common features of many distance education courses. Project report is a requirement of some degrees and the quality of most of the reports is poor. Plagiarism and “outsourcing” are accepted as “normal”.
The Manonmaniam Sundaranar University (MSU) has hit the headlines recently. It ran 329 unapproved programmes through ”Satellite Centres” between 2008 and 2011 without the approval of either the Distance Education Council or the Indian Council of Technical Education according to a recent note of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG). The validity of the certificates of around 80,000 students is under the scanner. While 74 private institutions- “technical collaborators”- got an undue benefit of INR 27.73 crore, the University incurred a loss of INR 35.41 crore in revenue. Some institutes virtually “looted” the students by charging up to 40 times the fee fixed by the University. The MSU case may only be the tip of an iceberg.
The Universities in India are growing exponentially : 30 in 1951 and 634 by the end of 2011. But at what cost and for whose benefit ?
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Elder Care : India’s Elderly demand National and State Commissions for Senior Citizens
“ Mathru devo bhava, pithru devo bhava” : treat the parents as gods, thus prescribe the Upanishads Filial reverence and care for the elderly in the families are taking a serious beating because of population increase, employment of women, high occupational mobility of younger generation, escalation in cost of living and changes in social structure , among other factors. Elder abuse is no more a rare phenomenon in Indian Society. Globally, it has been felt as a serious problem and from the year 2006, June 15 has been observed as World Elder Abuse Awareness Day.
A representative sample survey in Chennai city by the author more than ten years ago yielded unexpected results. 73% of the elderly respondents reported that “these days the old parents are ill-treated and neglected by the children.” They mentioned the different ways the aged experienced ill-treatment: shouting at them, making them wait for food, delaying or even avoiding medical treatment, leaving them in soiled clothes during sickness, not taking them to marriage or other social functions, not allowing them to visit neighbours to prevent “gossiping”, not consulting them on family matters, not introducing them to guests, and pushing or even beating them.
In a survey of 501 old persons in urban poor settlements in Chennai in 2006 by the author, 71% men and 76% women said they experienced ill-treatment in their families. They often suffered in silence for fear of reprisal in the family or shame in the community.
In the southern districts of Tamilnadu a cruel social practice of “thalaikoothal” is prevalent. That is, bedridden aged persons are given oil bath and served with tender coconut water on the hope that they would contract serious illness and die. The motive is often property-related , Burden of care giving is also a reason. Tamilnadu is not an exception. During Kumbhamela, held once in twelve years, millions of Hindus take a holy dip at theTriveni Sangamam. Many families not onlywasg their sins off, but their unwanted old parents by abandoning them.
In 2025 the population of India is estimated to be around 1200 million and the elderly segment will constitute about 160 million. A significant feature of the Indian demographic scenario is the “aging of the aged” which is manifested in the growing number of people aged 80 and above, who will be nearly 12 million in 2025. But the response of the central and state governments is quite inadequate and unimaginative. A national policy on older persons (NPOP) was drafted to be revised in 2011 because of poor implementation. The policy performance is not accountable to the Parliament, it is left to the mercy of the bureaucracy.
Old age pension for older persons in the BPL category who form the majority of the aged in the country is the only significant elder care service. Tamilnadu, Delhi and Goa are giving a monthly pension of Rs.1000 each, while in the other states the amount is more meagre. But the social assistance delivery system is cumbersome, arbitrary and insensitive. Delay in sanction, abrupt stoppage, denial of PDS service, and corruption are common experiences. Tamilnadu has recently introduced of distribution of social security amounts through individual bank accounts using smart cards with bio-metric identification of the beneficiaries. This initiative should be replicated in all states.
Political establishments in India are seldom proactive in responding to social needs. They are reactive depending, depending on the gravity of the agitations. Though the 60 plus persons are around 13 percent of the voters in elections, they have not become a vote bank till now, the key consideration for government action. Kofi Annan, the former UN Secretary General, remarked that “ Senior citizens, in spite of their number, collective wisdom and experience, will continue to be ignored and marginalized unless they unite”. From 2010, a joint action committee of Organisations of Senior Citizens started observing August 16 as National Solidarity Day to “stir up the conscience of our rulers and the society”.
Senior Citizens are the soft targets of criminal elements. The Maintenance of Parents and Senior Citizens Act of 2007 is an important elder care legislation. But its effectiveness is viewed with scepticism as criminalisation of family relations and obligations may not be acceptable to the vast majority of the old parents. It is a fact that some cases are registered and orders issued by the tribunals. But parents will be reluctant to take their children to police stations and courts unless they are driven to a desperate situation. Sensitization of families needs to go along with legal remedies.
The National Policy on Older Persons has been ineffective without a separate secretariat for the welfare of the elderly. There is urgent need for national and state commissions to protect the rights, security and welfare of the senior citizens on the lines of the commissions for women and children. Elder care services should be headed by Directors at the Central and State levels.
A representative sample survey in Chennai city by the author more than ten years ago yielded unexpected results. 73% of the elderly respondents reported that “these days the old parents are ill-treated and neglected by the children.” They mentioned the different ways the aged experienced ill-treatment: shouting at them, making them wait for food, delaying or even avoiding medical treatment, leaving them in soiled clothes during sickness, not taking them to marriage or other social functions, not allowing them to visit neighbours to prevent “gossiping”, not consulting them on family matters, not introducing them to guests, and pushing or even beating them.
In a survey of 501 old persons in urban poor settlements in Chennai in 2006 by the author, 71% men and 76% women said they experienced ill-treatment in their families. They often suffered in silence for fear of reprisal in the family or shame in the community.
In the southern districts of Tamilnadu a cruel social practice of “thalaikoothal” is prevalent. That is, bedridden aged persons are given oil bath and served with tender coconut water on the hope that they would contract serious illness and die. The motive is often property-related , Burden of care giving is also a reason. Tamilnadu is not an exception. During Kumbhamela, held once in twelve years, millions of Hindus take a holy dip at theTriveni Sangamam. Many families not onlywasg their sins off, but their unwanted old parents by abandoning them.
In 2025 the population of India is estimated to be around 1200 million and the elderly segment will constitute about 160 million. A significant feature of the Indian demographic scenario is the “aging of the aged” which is manifested in the growing number of people aged 80 and above, who will be nearly 12 million in 2025. But the response of the central and state governments is quite inadequate and unimaginative. A national policy on older persons (NPOP) was drafted to be revised in 2011 because of poor implementation. The policy performance is not accountable to the Parliament, it is left to the mercy of the bureaucracy.
Old age pension for older persons in the BPL category who form the majority of the aged in the country is the only significant elder care service. Tamilnadu, Delhi and Goa are giving a monthly pension of Rs.1000 each, while in the other states the amount is more meagre. But the social assistance delivery system is cumbersome, arbitrary and insensitive. Delay in sanction, abrupt stoppage, denial of PDS service, and corruption are common experiences. Tamilnadu has recently introduced of distribution of social security amounts through individual bank accounts using smart cards with bio-metric identification of the beneficiaries. This initiative should be replicated in all states.
Political establishments in India are seldom proactive in responding to social needs. They are reactive depending, depending on the gravity of the agitations. Though the 60 plus persons are around 13 percent of the voters in elections, they have not become a vote bank till now, the key consideration for government action. Kofi Annan, the former UN Secretary General, remarked that “ Senior citizens, in spite of their number, collective wisdom and experience, will continue to be ignored and marginalized unless they unite”. From 2010, a joint action committee of Organisations of Senior Citizens started observing August 16 as National Solidarity Day to “stir up the conscience of our rulers and the society”.
Senior Citizens are the soft targets of criminal elements. The Maintenance of Parents and Senior Citizens Act of 2007 is an important elder care legislation. But its effectiveness is viewed with scepticism as criminalisation of family relations and obligations may not be acceptable to the vast majority of the old parents. It is a fact that some cases are registered and orders issued by the tribunals. But parents will be reluctant to take their children to police stations and courts unless they are driven to a desperate situation. Sensitization of families needs to go along with legal remedies.
The National Policy on Older Persons has been ineffective without a separate secretariat for the welfare of the elderly. There is urgent need for national and state commissions to protect the rights, security and welfare of the senior citizens on the lines of the commissions for women and children. Elder care services should be headed by Directors at the Central and State levels.
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