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Journalism of Courage
The victory of the Left in West Bengal and Kerala, the endorsement given to the DMK election manifesto and the loss of a majority in Assam for the Congress should make the UPA government and the Congress leadership introspect and draw lessons. That, according to CPM general secretary Prakash Karat, is the message from the recent assembly elections. In short, the aam aadmi can be ignored only at the government8217;s own peril. Writing in 8216;People8217;s Democracy8217;, the CPM chief says the victories have brought the focus on the Left, and rejected the UPA government8217;s pro-US policies. The Left will take the lead in rolling back these policies.
However, he points to difficulties in executing Left policies. The West Bengal government, for instance, is pitted against a Central government that is 8216;8216;antithetical to the working people of India8217;8217;. Karat draws attention to what he calls unequal center-state relations under liberalisation which are manifested in a manner in which neo-liberal conditions are imposed 8212; by curtailing central grants, subsidies and loan benefits. The CPM chief8217;s verdict following the election results is aimed at the UPA government: 8220;The people are not enamoured of the Manmohan Singh government8217;s policies designed to cater to international finance capital and pursue reforms which only enrich those who are already affluent,8221; Karat says.
Know the Real India
In 8216;Knowledge Commission Must Know Real India8217;, R. Arun Kumar argues the need for more professionals 8212; suggesting India has not reached saturation point in its demand for doctors and engineers 8212; to suggest why the National Knowledge Commission should equip people with ideas to make that happen. Kumar clearly has little faith, though, in the NKC8217;s doing this and is not surprised that the majority of its members voted against reservation, given their profiles, economics and politics. That stand, he says, also went against two of the NKC8217;s most important functions: ensuring social development and increasing access to knowledge. He explains that the majority of the population is poor, comprising dalits, adivasis and OBCs, and by saying 8216;no8217; to reservations the NKC members were denying access to education to the majority. Kumar argues that quality is not affected by reservations in top institutes and mentions there is always a minimum qualifying percentage for appearing in an entrance examination. Referring to instances of caste oppression, Kumar suggests the commission has a great chance to provide access to 8220;knowledge systems8221; to those who8217;ve been deprived of it.
Fuelling dissent on price hike
8220;Simply unacceptable8221; is the CPM8217;s response to moves for a petro price hike ignoring the Left8217;s alternative proposals for tax rationalisation that would have enabled the government to prevent this rise. An editorial in 8216;People8217;s Democracy8217;, seeking to puncture holes in the government8217;s reasons for effecting the hike, says what are termed as losses are actually notional figures on what the oil companies could have raised had prices been raised. These are not actual losses. As for the argument that social welfare programmes will be hit without the revenues from the oil sector, the editorial says the government8217;s revenues from the sector went up by Rs 30,000 crore between 2002-03 and 2005-06, while subsidies on PDS kerosene and domestic LPG cylinders dropped. Further, as government taxes are ad valorem, it earns more whenever there is an international price rise.
Against the grain
Lower procurement figures for wheat over the past few years would have serious repercussions on food security and the interests of farmers, according to CPM MP Brinda Karat. In a letter to Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar published in 8216;People8217;s Democracy8217;, she says that production of wheat had not increased over the past several years and the government was, on the contrary, encouraging diversification from foodgrain production. While pointing out that procurement by the government had been low, she says, 8220;Aggressive interventions by private traders including companies like Reliance have resulted in their being able to corner a much larger share of the grain that came to the market. There are also reports that big foreign companies have entered the market through agents.8221; Her target is evidently the foreign traders. The price paid to them by the government was much higher than the MSP offered to Indian farmers. According to her, private traders who have gained control of the new crop will manipulate prices even further to increase profits at the cost of the consumer.
8212; Compiled by Ananda Majumdar
